The 

NewCentury 

Bible 


Judges  <S-Ruth 


Division 
Section 


W\ 


Volumes  already  published  or  in  preparation  : — 

NEW    TESTAMENT, 
i.  MATTHEW,  by  Prof.  W.  F.  Slater,  M.A. 

2.  MARK,  by  Principal  Salmond,  D.D. 

3.  LUKE,  by  Principal  W.  F.  Adeney,  D.D. 

4.  JOHN,  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  McClymont,  D.D. 

5.  ACTS,  by  Prof.  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  M.A. 

6.  ROMANS,  by  the  Rev.  A.  E.  Garvie,  M.A.,  B.D. 

7.  I  AND  II  CORINTHIANS,  by  Prof.  J.  Massie,  M.A.,  D.D. 

8.  EPHESIANS,  COLOSSIANS,  PHILEMON,  PHILIP- 

PIANS,  by  the  Rev.  G.  Currie  Martin,  M.A.,  B.D. 

9.  I  AND  II  THESSALONIANS,  GALATIANS,  by  Prin- 

cipal W.  F.  Adeney,  D.D. 
ro.  THE    PASTORAL    EPISTLES,    by  the   Rev.    R.    F. 

Horton,  M.A.,  D.D. 
11.  HEBREWS,  by  Prof.  A.  S.  Peake,  M.A. 
i2.  THE  GENERAL  EPISTLES,  by  Prof.  W.  H.  Bennett, 

D.D. 
13.  REVELATION,  by  the  Rev.  C.  Anderson  Scott,  M.A. 


OLD    TESTAMENT. 

GENESIS,   by  the  Rev.    Prof.  W.  H.  Bennett,  Litt.D., 

D.D. 
JUDGES  and    RUTH,   by  the  Rev.    G.   W.  THATCHER, 

M.A.,  B.D. 
I  and  II  SAMUEL,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  A.  R.  S.  Kennedy, 

M.A.,  D.D. 
JOB,  by  Prof.  A.  S.  Peake,  M.A. 
I  and  II  KINGS,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  Skinner,  D.D. 
PSALMS  (Vol.1)  I  TO  LXXII,by  the  Rev.  Prof.  Davison,  D.D. 
PSALMS  (Vol.   II)  LXXIII  TO   END,  by  the  Rev.   Prof. 

Davison,  D.D. 
ISAIAH,  by  the  Rev.  Principal  Whitehouse,  M.A.,  D.D. 
MINOR    PROPHETS:    Hosea,   Joel,    Amos,    Obadiah, 

Jonah,  Micah,  by  the  Rev.  R.  F.  Horton,  M.A.,  D.D. 
MINOR   PROPHETS  :    Nahum,  Habakkuk,  Zephaniah, 

HAGGAl,    ZECHAPIAH,    MALACHI,    by   the   Rev.    Canon 

Driver,  D.D. 


THE    NEW   CENTURY   BIBLE 

JUDGES  and  RUTH 


OXFORD 
HORACE  HART,   PRINTER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


General  Editor  : 
Principal  Walter  F.  Adeney,  M.A.,  D.D. 


Jfa>ge0  anb  Qjtu$ 


INTRODUCTION ;  REVISED  VERSION  WITH 
NOTES,  GIVING  AN  ANALYSIS  SHOWING 
FROM  WHICH  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  DOCU- 
MENTS EACH  PORTION  OF  THE  TEXT 
IS  TAKEN;    INDEX  AND  MAP 


EDITED   by 


REV.  G.  W.  THATCHER,  MA.,  B.D. 


MANSFIELD   COLLEGE,  OXFORD 


NEW  YORK:  HENRY  FROWDE 

OXFORD   UNIVERSITY   PRESS,   AMERICAN    BRANCH 

EDINBURGH :  T.  C.  &  E.  C.  JACK 


The  Revised  Version  is  printed  by  permission  of  the 
Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

The  object  of  this  commentary  is  not  to  evolve 
historical  or  religious  teaching  from  the  books  treated. 
That  should  be  the  final  object  of  every  thoughtful 
reader.  The  special  work  of  the  editor  is  to  show 
what  material  is  available  for  such  a  purpose,  how  it 
arose  and  how  it  has  fared  in  the  course  of  its  trans- 
mission. For  those  who  would  study  these  things 
more  in  detail,  this  little  book  may  serve  as  an  intro- 
duction to  the  fuller  works  cited  under  Literature. 


CONTENTS 

JUDGES 

PAGE 

Introduction 3 

Text  of  the  Revised  Version  with  Annotations      .  27 

RUTH 

Introduction  ....                 ....  173 

Text  of  the  Revised  Version  with  Annotations       .  179 

Index 197 


MAP 
Palestine  in  the  time  of  the  Judges     .         .     Facing  Title 


THE   BOOK  OF  JUDGES 

INTRODUCTION 


THE   BOOK  OF  JUDGES 

INTRODUCTION 
The  Place  of  the  Book  in  the  Canon. 

The  Hebrew  Bible,  of  which  our  O.  T.  is  a  translation, 
is  known  among  Jews  as  'The  Law,  the  Prophets,  and 
the  Writings.'  The  three  titles  correspond  with  three 
divisions  of  the  O.  T.  writings,  and  indicate  three  stages 
in  the  formation  of  the  Canon.  'The  Law,'  comprising 
Genesis  to  Deuteronomy,  formed  the  first  Hebrew  Bible, 
and  was  received  as  such  about  the  end  of  the  fifth  century 
B.C.  To  this  was  added,  not  later  than  200  B.C.,  the 
collection  called  'the  Prophets,'  composed  of  Joshua, 
Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings  in  the  first  half,  and  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  twelve  minor  Prophets  in  the 
second  part.  The  third  Canon,  called  'the  Writings,' 
was  practically  closed  at  the  time  of  Christ,  though  the 
fitness  of  some  books  to  be  in  it  was  matter  of  dispute 
until  near  the  end  of  the  first  century  A.D.  In  it  were 
contained  the  Psalms  (the  Jewish  hymn-book),  the  two 
Wisdom  books,  Proverbs,  and  Job,  a  collection  of  five 
small  works  (Song  of  Songs,  Ruth,  Lamentations, 
Ecclesiastes,  and  Esther)  recited  in  the  synagogues  on 
certain  special  days,  Daniel,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and 
Chronicles,  the  great  Church  History  of  the  Jews.  The 
first  half  of  the  second  Canon  thus  contained  the  history 
of  the  Hebrews  from  the  death  of  Moses  to  the  Exile,  and 
the  Book  of  Judges  was  put  into  this  Canon  to  fill  up  the 
gap  from  the  death  of  Joshua  to  the  birth  of  Samuel. 
Was  the  book  written  for  this  purpose  and  at  this  time,  or 
was  it  already  in  existence?  Like  the  other  historical 
books  of  the  O.  T.  it  is  anonymous.     Little  or  no  regard 

B  2 


4  THE   BOOK   OF  JUDGES 

was  paid  to  authorship  in  those  days.  Nor  is  the  date  of 
its  composition  given  in  the  work  itself.  It  is  only  by 
a  careful  examination  of  the  contents,  structure,  language, 
and  modes  of  expression  that  we  can  hope  to  gain  some 
idea  of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  book  which  was  thus 
received  into  the  Canon. 

Contents. 

The  Book  of  Judges  in  its  present  form  claims  to  present 
the  history  of  Israel  from  the  time  when  the  tribes  went 
up  from  the  Jordan  valley  to  take  possession  of  the  districts 
which  had  fallen  to  their  lot  to  conquer,  up  to  the  days  of 
Samuel,  in  whose  time  the  monarchy  came  into  existence. 
The  Israelites  are  represented  as  a  nation  existing  alter- 
nately in  a  state  of  anarchy  and  idolatry,  and  under  the 
rule  of  distinguished  'judges'  or  heroes,  of  whom  thirteen 
are  mentioned. 

In  chapters  i.  i-ii.  5  is  a  Preface  containing  a  valuable 
but  fragmentary  and  incomplete  account  of  the  first 
attempts  of  the  Hebrew  tribes  to  conquer  Palestine,  and 
the  result  of  these  attempts,  chiefly  in  the  way  of  failure. 
Chapters  ii.  6-xvi  contain  the  stories  of  the  Judges,  and 
include  a  scheme  of  chronology  evidently  intended  to  fill 
up  the  period  from  Joshua  to  Samuel.  The  deeds 
whereby  the  heroes  won  their  position  as  judges  of  Israel 
are  recorded  as  to  Othniel  in  iii.  7-1 1,  Ehud  in  iii.  12-30, 
Barak  (with  Deborah)  in  iv.  i-v.  31,  Gideon  in  vi.  i-viii.  32, 
Abimelech  in  viii.  33-ix.  57,  Jephthah  in  x.  6-xii.  7, 
Samson  in  xiii.  i-xvi.  31.  Beside  these  men  are  men- 
tioned Shamgar,  who  slew  six  hundred  Philistines  (iii.  31), 
and  five  others— Tola  (x.  1,  2),  Jair  (x.  3-5),  Ibzan  (xii. 
8-10),  Elon  (xii.  11,  12),  and  Abdon  (xii.  13-15)  -of  whom 
we  are  told  only  their  places  of  burial  and  their  social 
distinction.  The  stories  of  the  Judges  come  to  an  end 
with  chapter  xvi.  In  the  remaining  part  of  the  book  we 
have  two  stories  of  events  which  are  said  to  have  happened 
in  the  times  of  the  Judges.     In  chapters  xvii,  xviii  is  con- 


INTRODUCTION  5 

tained  the  history  of  the  origin  of  a  famous  image  which 
was  in  the  northern  sanctuary  of  Dan  ;  how  Micah  the 
Ephraimite  made  it,  and  how  it  was  stolen  from  him  by 
a  party  of  Danites  who  were  migrating  from  the  south  ; 
how  finally  it  was  set  up  in  their  new  northern  settlement 
and  remained  there  '  until  the  captivity  of  the  land.' 

In  chapters  xix-xxi  is  recorded  the  story  of  a  ghastly 
deed  of  Benjamin,  of  the  fierce  war  made  by  the  other 
Hebrews  against  that  tribe,  and  of  the  means  adopted  to 
prevent  the  total  extinction  of  the  tribe. 

The  Stories  of  Judges,    ii.  6-xvi.  31. 

This  work  consists  of  an  Introduction  (ii.  6-iii.  6),  which 
first  unites  the  work  to  the  Book  of  Joshua  (ii.  6-10),  and 
then  explains  the  author's  view  of  the  history  of  the 
Hebrews  during  the  period  to  be  treated  (ii.  11-iii.  6). 
After  this  follow  the  stories  of  the  Judges  (iii.  7-xvi.  31). 

Of  the  four  connecting  verses,  three,  viz.  6,  8  and  9, 
are  from  the  older  tradition,  while  verse  7  is  from  the 
Deuteronomic  editor  (see  below).  Verses  7  and  8  are 
found  also  in  Joshua  xxiv.  29-31. 

(a)  The  Introduction-  The  section  ii.  11-iii.  6  is  the 
key  to  the  purpose  of  the  editor  in  compiling  his  work. 
Here  he  lays  down  in  general  terms  the  scheme  of  the 
history  he  is  about  to  tell  in  detail  afterwards.  The 
'  children  of  Israel  '—conceived  of  as  one  people — were 
ungrateful  and  forsook  Yahweh,  who  had  brought  them 
up  out  of  Egypt,  and  served  the  local  gods  of  Palestine. 
Yahweh  was  angry  and  'sold  them'  into  the  hands  of 
their  enemies,  so  that  they  were  sore  distressed.  Then 
(after  repentance  of  the  people  in  the  stories)  Yahweh 
raised  up  heroes  ('judges'),  who  delivered  them  from 
their  enemies.  While  the  judges  lived  the  people  served 
Yahweh,  but  when  they  died  the  people  again  turned 
away  to  the  local  gods,  and  the  same  story  of  oppression, 
deliverance,  piety,  idolatry  was  enacted  again.  In  con- 
sequence  of  this  faithlessness  Yahweh  determined  not 


6  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

to  allow  the  annihilation  of  the  Canaanites,  but  suffered 
some  of  them  to  remain  that  the  faithfulness  of  the 
Israelites  might  be  put  to  the  test. 

(b)  The  Editor's  Formulae.  What  the  editor  says  in  this 
Introduction  he  states  again  and  again  in  the  course  of 
the  work.  In  the  story  of  Othniel  (iii.  7—1 1)  there  is 
nothing  but  this  formula  and  the  names  of  Othniel  and 
Cushan-rishathaim.  The  story  of  Ehud  begins  with  the 
evil  of  the  Israelites,  the  oppression,  the  raising  up  of 
a  deliverer  (iii.  12-15),  and  closes  with  the  summary  of 
their  deliverance  and  rest  (verses  29,  30).  In  the  story 
of  Barak  the  same  is  found  in  iv.  1-3,  23,  24,  v.  31°;  in 
the  story  of  Gideon  in  vi.  1-6,  viii.  28  ;  in  the  story  of 
Jephthah  in  a  longer  form  in  x.  6-18 ;  and  in  the  story 
of  Samson  more  briefly  in  xiii.  1,  xv.  20. 

(c)  Standpoint  of  Introduction  and  Formulae.  In  the 
absence  of  any  information  as  to  the  date  at  which  the 
book  was  edited,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  examine  the 
chief  features  of  these  passages  in  which  the  editor's 
standpoint  is  so  clearly  marked. 

(1)  In  all  these  passages  'the  children  of  Israel,'  or 
Israelites ,  are  spoken  of  as  one  people,  acting  together, 
suffering  together,  repenting  together,  ruled  over  as  a 
whole  by  each  judge  in  turn.  This  fact  at  once  shows 
that  the  editor  wrote  after  the  union  of  the  tribes  into 
a  people,  after  the  establishment  of  the  monarchy.  Up  to 
that  time,  as  we  learn  from  the  stories  in  the  Book  of 
Judges  and  from  the  earlier  part  of  the  first  Book  of 
Samuel,  the  Hebrew  tribes  had  no  such  sense  of  unity. 
Each  tribe  made  its  own  way  in  the  conquest  of  Palestine 
(see  Judges  i).  The  different  tribes  too  were  so  surrounded 
by  hostile  cities  and  peoples  that  intercourse  was  difficult 
and  often  impossible.  Occasionally,  only,  two  or  three 
tribes  were  able  to  form  a  temporary  alliance  against 
a  common  enemy.  The  feeling  between  the  tribes  was 
by  no  means  always  one  of  friendship.  The  Ephraimites 
on  two  occasions  (Judges  viii.  I  ff.,  xii.  1  ff.)  showed  an  un- 


INTRODUCTION  7 

friendliness  of  disposition,  which  in  the  latter  case  led  to 
inter-tribal  war.  The  Benjamites  too  were  once  almost 
annihilated,  not  by  Canaanites,  but  by  other  Hebrews. 
Even  the  song  in  Judges  v  shows  that  it  was  at  that  time 
impossible  to  unite  all  the  tribes  and  weld  them  into  one 
people.  It  was  only  at  a  later  time,  when  their  conquest 
of  Palestine  was  more  complete,  and  they  had  realized 
that  their  common  worship  of  Yahweh  was  a  strong  bond 
of  union,  that  the  Hebrew  tribes  became  the  Children 
of  Israel.  The  writer  of  this  Introduction  and  the 
corresponding  passages  wrote  after  this  union  had  been 
accomplished. 

(2)  While  the  stories  of  the  Judges  record  the  history 
of  the  times  in  which  they  lived,  the  author  of  these 
passages  interprets  that  history.  However  interesting 
the  accounts  of  the  Judges  may  be  in  themselves  for  the 
student  of  ancient  traditions  or  folklore,  for  the  editor 
they  have  interest  only  as  illustrations  of  the  fact  that 
Yahweh  has  led  His  people  by  a  constant  discipline  to 
the  better  understanding  of  Himself  and  His  requirements. 

(d)  Date  of  Introduction  and  Formulae.  But  this  is 
exactly  the  doctrine  that  was  first  proclaimed  by  the 
prophets  of  Israel  (especially  Hosea)  in  the  eighth  century, 
and  by  their  successors  the  prophets  of  Judah  in  the 
seventh  century  B.C.  The  great  and  new  message  of 
Hosea  (i-iii)  to  the  people  of  his  own  time  was  that  they 
were  like  a  faithless  wife  leaving  her  husband  to  follow 
her  lovers,  as  they  deserted  Yahweh  to  serve  the  local 
gods ;  but  that  Yahweh  would  not  give  them  up ;  He 
would  bring  them  back,  and  by  discipline  fit  them  to  be 
again  what  they  were  chosen  to  be  in  His  service.  What 
Hosea  thus  announces  of  Yahweh's  dealing  with  His 
people  in  the  present  and  future  is  taken  up  and  applied 
in  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  to  His  dealing  with  the 
people  in  the  past.  The  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  published 
in  621  B.C.,  is  primarily  a  law-book  (xii-xxvi)  giving 
precepts  by  which  the  teaching  of  the  prophets  may  be 


8  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

carried  out  in  everyday  life.  But  the  historical  intro- 
ductions in  chapters  i-xi  contain  the  application  of 
Hosea's  teaching  to  the  past  history  of  the  people.  This 
new  interpretation  of  history  appealed  powerfully  to  the 
religious  teachers  of  Israel.  The  traditions  and  chronicles 
of  the  past  were  searched  to  find  illustrations  of  Yahweh's 
dealings  with  Israel,  and  such  historic  works  as  were  in 
existence  were  edited  anew  in  the  light  of  this  belief. 
All  the  historical  books  of  the  Hebrews  that  have  come 
down  to  us  in  the  second  Canon  of  the  O.  T.  show  that 
they  have  undergone  this  Deuteronomistic  editing.  These 
books  thus  consist  of  two  parts,  (a)  the  material,  (b)  the 
Deuteronomistic  interpretation  ;  the  two  being  sometimes 
closely  interwoven,  sometimes,  as  in  the  Book  of  Judges 
(ii.  6-xvi.  31),  standing  side  by  side,  but  separate.  The 
ideas  of  Deuteronomy  are  found  here  in  the  Introduction 
(ii.  6-iii.  6)  and  the  formulae  attached  to  some  of  the 
stories  (see  above),  and  not  in  the  other  parts  of  the  book. 
From  the  above  considerations  we  can  therefore  infer  that 
the  Book  of  Judges  (ii.  6-xvi.  31)  was  written  some  time 
after  the  proclamation  of  Deuteronomy  in  621  ;  how  long 
after  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

(e)  The  Stories  of  the  Judges.  But  was  the  whole  work 
written  at  this  time  ?  Evidently  not.  The  stories  of  the 
Judges  differ  in  many  respects  from  the  framework  in 
which  they  are  set.  The  language  of  some  (as  in  the  song 
of  chapter  v)  is  of  much  older  date  than  the  seventh 
century.  The  method  of  presenting  facts  is  also  quite 
different.  Some  of  these  facts  too  contradict  the  state- 
ments of  the  Introduction.  The  Deuteronomistic  editor 
implies  (ii.  18-19)  tnat  tne  Israelites  served  Yahweh 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  Judges,  yet  we  find  Gideon 
making  an  image  (viii.  27),  a  form  of  Yahweh-worship 
common  enough  in  his  day,  but  pure  idolatry  in  the  eyes 
of  a  Deuteronomist.  Jephthah's  sacrifice  of  his  daughter 
would  be  an  abomination  to  the  editor,  and  it  is  clear  that 
he  did  not  write  the  account  of  it,  but  found  it  already 


INTRODUCTION  9 

written.  There  is  still,  however,  a  choice  of  two  possibili- 
ties as  to  the  source  of  the  materials  the  editor  used. 
Did  he  find  a  written  record  of  these  stories  at  hand? 
Or  did  he  collect  the  traditions  which  had  been  handed 
down  (as  in  many  other  countries)  by  word  of  mouth 
from  generation  to  generation?  The  former  is  certainly 
the  more  probable  view.  Had  the  editor  gathered  oral 
traditions  himself,  he  would  scarcely  have  taken  some 
of  the  stories  which  do  not  illustrate  his  own  view  of 
past  history  (parts  of  Gideon  and  Jephthah  stories  as 
above).  The  style  and  language  of  the  stories  is  quite 
distinct  from  that  of  the  editor,  a  thing  which  would 
scarcely  happen  if  he  had  been  the  first  to  put  them  in 
literary  form. 

The  ftre-Deuteronomic  Book  of  Judges.  One  may 
speak  then  with  some  degree  of  certainty  of  a  pre-Deut- 
eronomic  Book  of  Judges,  the  date  of  which  we  cannot 
tell,  except  that  it  must  have  been  written  some  time 
before  621  B.C.  This  book  probably  contained  the  stories 
of  Ehud,  Barak  (with  Deborah),  Gideon,  Abimelech, 
Jephthah,  Samson,  and  the  material  of  chapters  xvii.-xxi. 
(See  below,  '  Supplement.') 

What  then  was  the  source  or  what  were  the  sources  of 
this  book?  Had  the  author  a  document  or  documents 
before  him,  or  did  he  gather  traditions  ?  One  thing  is 
clear — that  the  author  had  more  than  one  account  of  the 
same  events  in  some  cases.  Of  Barak's  deliverance  in 
the  battle  of  Esdraelon  there  is  a  prose  story  in  chapter 
iv  and  a  poetical  in  chapter  v.  The  two  have  been  put 
side  by  side  with  a  few  connecting  words,  although  they 
differ  in  their  representation  of  the  facts.  In  the  story  of 
Gideon  there  seem  to  be  two  different  accounts  of  his  deeds, 
as  viii.  4-21  certainly  does  not  appear  to  be  a  continua- 
tion of  chapter  vii.  Many  suppose  that  there  were  two 
collections  of  traditions  from  which  the  pre-Deuteronomic 
book  was  compiled.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  show 
that  these  two  books  were  parts  of  the  great  writings  J 


io  THE  BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

and  E  which  contribute  so  much  to  the  material  of  the 
Pentateuch  and  Joshua.  It  is  indeed  very  possible  that 
these  works  were  histories  beginning  with  Creation  and 
extending  at  least  to  the  establishment  of  the  monarchy, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  be  certain  of  this,  or  in  any  case  to 
say  to  which  of  the  two  works  a  given  story  belongs. 

The  Traditions  of  Judges.  The  final  source  of  our  book 
was  certainly  tradition.  Of  the  thirteen  men  mentioned 
in  the  Book  of  Judges  we  have  detailed  tradition  of  six 
only,  namely  of  Ehud,  Barak,  Gideon  and  his  son 
Abimelech,  Jephthah,  and  Samson. 

Ehud.  The  story  of  Ehud  is  one  which  in  form  and 
material  points  to  its  being  an  old  and  authentic  tradition, 
such  as  might  well  have  been  told  with  pride  among  the 
men  of  Benjamin.  The  inconsistence  of  chapter  iii.  19 
and  20  may  show  that  the  tradition  existed  in  more  than 
one  form  as  regards  details.  Such  variation  in  details 
is  common  in  oral  traditions,  and,  where  it  exists,  both 
accounts  are  often  put  by  Hebrew  writers  side  by  side 
without  remark. 

Barak.  Of  the  Hebrew  victory  over  the  Canaanite 
kings  we  have  two  traditions,  which,  though  differing  in 
some  important  features  (see  commentary  to  chapter  v.), 
evidently  refer  to  the  same  event.  The  poetical  account 
in  chapter  v.  is  one  of  the  most  vivid  pieces  of  writing  in 
the  O.  T.,  and  seems  to  have  been  written  by  one  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  movement.  Such  poetic  stories  are  often 
among  the  earliest  literary  productions  of  a  people. 
Before  800  B.  c.  there  were  collections  in  writing  of  such 
poetry  (2  Sam.  i.  18,  Num.  xxi.  14).  As  is  very  common 
in  such  collections,  the  authorship  of  the  poems  is  often 
unknown,  or  at  any  rate  not  mentioned.  As  will  be  seen 
from  the  commentary,  the  text,  partly  in  consequence  of 
its  antiquity,  is  very  difficult  to  explain  in  many  places, 
but  the  general  course  of  events  is  clear.  It  is  pre-emi- 
nently a  battle-song  of  triumph.  Barak  and  Deborah  are 
twice  addressed  in  it,  but  the  poem  was  composed  not  to 


INTRODUCTION  n 

glorify  them,  but  to  celebrate  the  triumph  over  the  enemy. 
It  is,  however,  because  of  its  association  with  the  'judge' 
Barak  that  it  is  put  into  the  Book  of  Judges.  The  prose 
story  in  chapter  iv  is  evidently  regarded  by  the  Deutero- 
nomic  editor  as  the  more  important  for  his  purpose.  His 
own  formula  precedes  (iv.  1-3)  and  follows  (iv.  23,  24)  the 
prose  story,  and  only  the  closing  section  of  it, '  and  the  land 
had  rest  forty  years,'  is  reserved  for  the  end  of  the  song. 
Yet  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  poem  contains  the  truer 
account.  Prose  traditions  were  always  liable  to  additions 
and  alterations  in  the  mouths  of  the  people,  while  it  was 
more  difficult  to  alter  poetry  without  disturbing  the 
rhythm  of  the  whole.  In  chapter  iv.  the  story  of  Sisera's 
battle  against  the  kings  of  Canaan  seems  to  have  been 
blended  with  a  story  (recorded  in  Joshua  xi.  1-9)  of 
a  war  with  Jabin,  king  of  Hazor,  hence  the  discrepancies 
between  this  account  and  the  song. 

Gideon  and  A  dime  lech.  The  stories  of  Gideon  and 
his  house  are  more  numerous  than  those  of  any  other 
judge.  He  was  evidently  a  man  of  great  influence  in 
Central  Palestine.  His  own  personal  character  is  more 
clearly  delineated  than  that  of  any  other  hero  (except 
Samson,  whose  life  is  of  quite  another  character).  Above 
even  his  simple  straightforwardness  and  his  courage  stands 
his  religious  nature.  He  receives  his  call  to  deliver  his 
tribe  from  Yahweh's  angel.  One  of  his  earliest  deeds  is 
the  destruction  of  the  Baal's  altar,  after  he  has  erected 
one  to  Yahweh.  Four  traditions  are  recorded  as  to  his 
intercourse  with  Yahweh  and  desire  to  know  His  will 
(vi.  36  ff.,  vii.  2f.,  4E,  9fT.);  and  when  he  had  crushed 
the  Midianites  he  devoted  his  share  of  the  spoil  to 
making  an  ephod  by  which  Yahweh  might  be  consulted. 
The  traditions  here,  as  in  other  cases,  were  doubtless 
collected  from  different  quarters.  Some  of  them  were 
told  of  Jerubbaal,  so  that  the  collector  in  vii.  1  feels  it 
necessary  to  explain  in  one  of  these  which  he  is  using 
that  Jerubbaal  is  Gideon.     There  are  two  distinct  sets 


12  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

of  traditions  in  chapters  vii,  viii,  the  one  telling  how  he 
led  the  Hebrews  against  the  Midianites  under  Oreb  and 
Zeeb,  how  he  conquered  them  and  saved  his  people.  The 
other  (viii.  4  ff.)  tells  how  he  and  the  men  of  his  family 
(Abiezer)  pursued  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  to  exact  blood 
revenge,  because  they  had  killed  his  brothers. 

Although  in  the  story  of  viii.  22  Gideon  is  said  to  have 
declined  to  rule  over  his  people,  it  is  evident  from  the 
story  of  Abimelech  that  he  had  exercised  a  recognized 
authority,  and  of  such  a  character  that  his  family  might 
be  expected  to  continue  it  after  him.  The  Deuteronomic 
editor  did  not  recognize  Abimelech  as  a  judge,  and  has 
not  enclosed  his  story  in  his  own  usual  framework  (see 
p.  6).  But  the  traditions  here  evidently  come  from  the 
same  sources  as  those  of  the  other  judges,  and  show 
the  same  blending  of  various  stones  (see  commentary  to 
chapter  ix). 

Jephthah.  This  story,  like  that  of  Gideon,  presents 
a  man  of  striking  personality.  Like  Gideon  he  is  a  man 
of  strong  religious  earnestness.  He  even  sacrifices  his 
only  daughter  rather  than  break  his  promise  to  Yahweh. 
He  is,  however,  of  a  fiercer  disposition  than  Gideon.  The 
Ephraimites,  who  had  made  Gideon  speak  flattering 
words  to  them  when  they  threatened  him  (viii.  1  ff.),  brought 
destruction  on  themselves  when  they  found  fault  with 
Jephthah  (xii.  1  ff.).  The  stories  current  about  Jephthah 
have  been  increased  by  the  addition  of  a  long  section 
(xi.  12-28)  made  up  from  Num.  xx,  xxi.  This  is  very 
awkwardly  introduced  here,  for  it  breaks  the  connexion 
between  verses  12  and  30,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  refers 
to  Moab,  while  Jephthah's  enemy  was  Ammon.  This 
section  must  have  been  introduced  from  the  other  work, 
when  the  traditions  were  first  written  down,  or  when  the 
pre-Deuteronomic  book  was  composed. 

Samson.  The  traditions  of  Samson,  said  to  be  a  Danite, 
differ  altogether  from  those  of  the  other  Hebrew  heroes. 
The  Deuteronomic  editor  seems  to  have  felt  this,  as  his 


INTRODUCTION  13 

formulae  (xiii.  1,  xv.  20)  shrink  to  the  smallest  dimensions. 
He  is  throughout  a  reckless  strong  man,  whose  adventures 
are  partly  due  to  sudden  frenzies,  partly  to  a  deliberate 
desire  to  avenge  himself  for  what  he  considers  to  be  ill 
treatment  of  himself.  He  is  a  wilder  Here  ward  the  Wake, 
a  berserker,  or  very  like  the  Russian  bogatirs.  Such 
characters  are  to  be  found  in  the  folklore  of  most 
countries.  That  his  deeds  are  said  to  be  generally  due 
to  the  spirit  of  Yahweh  rushing  upon  him  is  quite  in 
accord  with  the  beliefs  of  early  peoples,  who  ascribed  all 
extraordinary  manifestations  of  power  to  the  deity.  (Extra- 
ordinary natural  features  are  often  ascribed  among  our- 
selves by  the  people  to  the  devil — '  the  devil's  bridge,'  &c). 
Judged  by  modern  standards  Samson  was  most  immoral, 
but  moral  standards  are  not  usually  applied  to  folk-stories. 
These  stories  must  have  been  in  the  mouths  of  the  people, 
and  been  favourites  with  them,  long  before  they  were 
reduced  to  writing,  and  Samson  was  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  a  judge  in  Israel.  One  is  tempted  by  the  name  of  the 
hero  to  believe  that  they  were  Canaanitish  in  origin,  and 
taken  over  and  adapted  by  the  Hebrews.  One  can  hardly 
imagine  a  Hebrew  mother,  a  worshipper  of  Yahweh,  giving 
a  name  like  Samson  (probably  '  Sun's  man '),  connected 
with  the  worship  of  the  Sun,  to  her  child.  (The  city 
' Beth-shemesh,'  'Abode  of  the  Sun,'  was  close  to  his 
birthplace.)  Some  have  attempted  to  resolve  the  whole 
story  into  a  sun-myth,  but  without  success.  Although  all 
the  stories  were  probably  in  the  pre-Deuteronomic  Book 
of  Judges,  the  Deuteronomic  editor  put  his  closing  formula 
at  the  end  of  chapter  xv.  It  was  no  part  of  his  plan  to 
tell  the  painful  story  of  his  end.  Chapter  xvi  has,  however, 
been  later  restored  from  the  earlier  book,  and  the  ending 
repeated  in  a  shorter  form  in  xvi.  31. 

(/)  The  Minor  Judges.  There  are  five  judges  men- 
tioned in  our  book  of  whom  nothing  is  told  save  that 
they  judged  Israel  for  a  term  of  years,  were  wealthy  and 
influential  men,  and  that  their  burial-places  are  known 


i4  THE  BOOK  OF  JUDGES 

(see  p.  4).  There  is  also  one,  Shamgar,  who  smote  the 
Philistines  and  saved  Israel.  As  there  are  no  traditions 
concerning  the  first  five,  it  is  evident  that  they  have 
been  introduced  to  suit  some  scheme  of  the  author. 
It  is  probable  that  they  were  thus  introduced  to  make 
the  number  of  judges  correspond  with  that  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel,  while  at  the  same  time  their  chronology  was 
required  by  the  author.  The  names,  and  possibly  the 
information  as  to  their  social  position,  may  have  been 
derived  from  the  graves  themselves,  or  from  local  tradition 
regarding  these  burying-places.  The  mention  of  Shamgar 
(iii.  31)  differs  from  that  of  the  five  minor  judges,  in  so 
far  as  there  is  no  chronology,  no  burying-place  given, 
and  iv.  I  connects  with  iii.  30,  ignoring  Shamgar.  (See 
also  commentary  to  this  verse.)  It  is  very  probable 
that  a  late  author  did  not  count  Abimelech  as  a  judge, 
and  inserted  Shamgar  to  make  up  the  number  of  judges 
to  twelve. 

(g)  The  Chronology.  The  Deuteronomic  Book  of 
Judges  contains  a  system  of  chronology  which  is  evidently 
intended  to  fill  up  the  interval  between  Joshua  and 
Samuel.  The  figures  given  are  8  years  (iii.  8),  40  (iii.  11), 
18  (iii.  14),  80  (iii.  30),  20  (iv.  2),  40  (v.  31),  7  (vi.  1), 
40  (viii.  28),  3  (ix.  22),  23  (x.  2),  22  (x.  3),  18  (x.  8),  6  (xii.  7), 
7  (xii.  9),  10  (xii.  11),  8  (xii.  14),  40  (xiii.  1),  20  (xv.  20),  or 
a  total  of  410  years.  (If  the  story  of  Abimelech  was  not 
contained  in  the  Deuteronomic  book  the  three  years  of 
ix.  22  must  be  subtracted.)  It  has,  however,  been  pointed 
out  that  in  1  Kings  vi.  1,  480  years  are  said  to  have 
elapsed  from  the  Exodns  to  the  fourth  year  of  Solomon's 
reign,  whereas  if  to  the  410  years  of  Judges  be  added  the 
forty  years  of  the  wandering  in  the  desert,  the  seven 
years  (approximately)  occupied  in  the  conquest  of  Pales- 
tine according  to  the  Book  of  Joshua,  twenty  years  of 
Samuel's  rule  (1  Sam.  vii.  2),  probably  twenty  years  of 
Saul's  reign,  forty  of  David's,  and  the  first  four  of 
Solomon's,  we  should  have  a  total  of  541  years  for  the 


INTRODUCTION 


i5 


period  mentioned  in  1  Kings  vi.  1.  But  it  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  reconcile  these  data,  for  it  is  clear  that  many 
of  them  are  in  round  numbers  only.  Forty  years  was 
a  general  expression  for  a  generation.  This  number 
occurs  four  times  in  Judges,  twenty— or  half  this  number 
—twice,  and  eighty — or  twice  this  number— once.  The 
passage  in  Kings  is  twelve  times  forty,  or  twelve  genera- 
tions. Whether  the  more  exact  numbers  come  from 
tradition  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  In  any  case  the  chrono- 
logy is  artificial,  for  the  Judges  did  not  rule  over  all 
Israel,  nor  is  there  any  evidence  that  they  really  succeeded 
one  another  in  order. 


The  Preface,    i.  i-ii.  5. 

This  section  was  evidently  not  a  part  of  the  Deutero- 
nomistic  Book  of  Judges.  That  work,  as  we  have  seen, 
begins  in  ii.  6  with  recalling  the  events  of  Joshua  xxiv.,  and 
then  proceeds  with  the  histoiy  from  that  time.  But  this 
section  contains  a  summary  of  events  from  the  time  when 
the  Hebrews  first  went  up  from  Gilgal  (see  i.  1)  to 
conquer  Palestine.  It  must  therefore  have  been  prefaced 
to  the  Deuteronomic  book  at  a  later  time,  but  before  the 
work  was  introduced  into  the  Canon.  Its  incompleteness 
indicates  that  it  is  an  extract  from  a  larger  work.  This 
work  has  also  been  used  by  the  compiler  of  Joshua,  for  in 
that  book  are  many  passages  contained  in  this  section 
(see  commentary),  and  several  other  extracts  apparently- 
belonging  to  the  same  work,  but  not  used  here.  These 
passages  are  generally  ascribed  to  the  historical  work 
called  J.  (See  commentary  on  Joshua.)  The  historical 
references  to  the  subjugation  of  the  Canaanites  in  verses 
28  and  33  point  to  the  time  of  David  or  Solomon  as  the 
earliest  date  for  the  composition  of  the  section.  Its 
historical  value  has  always  been  estimated  highly.  The 
recognition  that  the  conquest  of  Palestine  was  gradual, 
was  made  by  the  tribes  separately,  and  was  very  incom- 


16  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

plete,  shows  it  to  be  much  more  reliable  than  the  parallel 
story  in  Joshua,  where  the  Hebrews  are  represented  from 
a  later  point  of  view,  acting  as  one  people  and  accom- 
plishing the  conquest  as  they  should  have  done  rather 
than  as  they  did.  It  is  a  fitting  preface  to  the  Book  of 
Judges,  for  it  shows  how  the  different  tribes  were  cut  off 
from  one  another  by  unconquered  Canaanite  cities,  so 
that  they  were  exposed  to  attacks  and  oppressions,  and 
could  only  with  great  difficulty  form  partial  combinations 
against  their  enemies. 


The  Supplement.    Chapters  xvii.-xxi. 

Chapters  xvii  and  xviii  contain  an  account  of  (a)  the 
origin  of  a  certain  image  which  was  established  for  a  time 
in  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim  ;  (b)  the  transference  of 
that  image  from  its  original  seat  to  Dan  (Laish),  where  it 
remained  until  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  B.  c.  Con- 
nected with  this  image  in  both  places  was  a  Levitical 
priesthood.  Included  in  this  story  is  an  account  of 
a  Danite  migration  from  the  south  to  the  north,  and  the 
foundation  of  the  city  of  Dan  on  the  site  of  the  older 
Laish.  The  general  style  of  the  stories  makes  it  very 
probable  that  they  were  contained  in  the  pre-Deuteronomic 
Book  of  Judges,  and  were  derived  from  the  same  sources 
as  that  work.  The  entire  absence  of  any  Deuteronomic 
editorial  notes  seems  to  indicate  that  these  stories  were 
not  incorporated  in  the  Deuteronomic  Book  of  Judges, 
but  were  added  afterwards  from  the  earlier  work.  The 
confusion  of  the  narrative  in  xvii,  2-4,  xviii.  14-20,  and 
the  multiplication  of  names  used  for  the  image  or  images, 
seem  to  show  that,  as  in  tne  stories  of  Judges,  the  author 
had  varying  traditions  before  him,  and  that  he  has  some- 
times blended  these  without  making  a  consistent  story. 

Chapters  xix  to  xxi  contain  the  story  of  an  outrage 
perpetrated  by  some  roughs  of  Gibeah,  the  consequent 
punishment  and  almost  complete  annihilation  of  the  tribe 


INTRODUCTION  17 

of  Benjamin,  and  the  means  adopted  to  preserve  this 
tribe  from  extinction.  Although  the  story  is  one,  there 
are  two  distinct  literary  parts  in  it.  Chapter  xix,  con- 
taining the  story  of  the  outrage,  is  told  in  much  the  same 
style  and  in  the  same  language  as  the  stories  of  the  judges 
and  that  of  the  Danite  image.  It  may  well  have  been 
a  part  of  the  collection  of  traditions  made  in  the  time  of 
the  kings.  The  following  chapters  (xx,  xxi)  are  different 
in  every  respect.  Here  the  story  of  the  war  against 
Benjamin  is  imbedded  in  a  setting  of  post-exilic  language 
and  ideas.  Just  as  the  post-Deuteronomic  writers  retold 
the  older  history  of  Israel  (see  p.  8)  from  the  Deutero- 
nomic  point  of  view,  so  after  the  introduction  of  the 
priestly  law  (about  400  B.C.)  writers  wrote  and  judged 
early  history  from  the  standpoint  of  these  new  laws. 
What  this  new  standpoint  was  we  see  in  the  priestly 
laws  of  Leviticus  and  Numbers ;  how  it  was  used  in  the 
rewriting  of  old  traditions  we  see  in  the  P  narratives  of 
Genesis  to  Joshua,  in  the  recasting  of  history  in  Chronicles. 
Such  a  writer  apparently  took  the  story  of  the  war  against 
Benjamin  from  the  pre-Deuteronomic  Book  of  Judges 
and  rewrote  it  in  the  style  of  Chronicles,  and  this  has 
supplanted  the  simpler  story  here.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  earlier  story  is  imbedded  in  our  chapters,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  say  with  certainty  which  verses  belong  to  it  *: 
The  characteristics  of  the  narrative  that  point  to  the 
late  date  are  (a)  the  presentation  of  the  people  as  a 
whole— Israel ;  (6)  the  conception  of  that  whole  as 
a  religious  community;  (c)  the  exaggerated  numbers. 
All  of  these  are  unhistorical  as  applied  to  the  time  of  the 
judges. 

1  Professor  Moore  suggests  that  the  early  story  is  contained 
in  the  following  passages  :— xx.  iac,  3-8,  14,  19,  29,  36 b,  37 a, 
38-41,  44  %  47,  xxi.  1,  15,  16 c,  17-19%  2I"23>  aPart  from  one 
or  two  brief  notes. 


i8  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

Origin  and  Development  of  the  Book. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  sections  it 
may  be  gathered  that  the  growth  of  the  canonical  Book  of 
Judges  was  as  follows  : — 

(a)  In  the  period  which  followed  the  crossing  of  the 
Jordan  the  Hebrew  tribes  were  continually  occupied  in 
conquering  the  Canaanites  and  maintaining  their  hold  of 
the  places  they  succeeded  in  capturing.  This  was  the 
age  in  which  great  heroes  arose  in  different  tribes.  These 
delivered  their  own  tribes  in  times  of  great  oppression, 
and  became  the  subjects  of  traditions,  which  were  handed 
down,  sometimes  in  prose  form,  sometimes  in  verse. 

(b)  Some  time  after  the  monarchy  was  established 
and  the  Hebrews  had  undoubted  possession  of  Palestine 
a  literature  arose.  A  part  of  this,  we  know  from  2  Sam.  i 
and  Num.  xxi.  14,  consisted  of  collections  of  poems, 
while  in  the  same  period  were  written  the  histories  which 
appear  in  the  non-priestly  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  and 
Joshua.  It  is  possible  that  these  two  histories  (J  and  E) 
contained  collections  of  traditions  of  the  judges. 

(c)  Somewhat  later,  but  before  the  proclamation  of 
Deuteronomy,  a  writer  using  the  two  collections  of  stories 
concerning  the  Hebrew  judges  wrote  a  new  work  in 
which  the  judges  were  made  to  follow  one  another  as 
rulers  over  all  Israel.  It  was  this  writer  probably  who 
introduced  such  supplementary  material  as  the  diplomatic 
intercourse  between  Jephthah  and  the  Ammonite  king 
(xi.  12  ff.).  His  work,  however,  contained  not  only  stories 
of  judges  but  other  material,  such  as  the  stories  found  now 
in  chapters  xvii-xviii,  xix,  and  the  story  of  the  Benjamite 
war  in  its  simple  form. 

(d)  After  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  had  been  published 
in  621,  and  had  shown  how  the  prophetic  idea  of  the 
Divine  discipline  of  Israel  could  be  applied  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  past  history,  the  pre-Deuteronomic  Book  of 
Judges   was   used   as  the  basis  of  a  work  which    was 


INTRODUCTION  19 

intended  to  show  how  the  Divine  discipline  was  exercised 
during  the  particular  period  of  the  people's  history  from 
the  death  of  Joshua  to  the  birth  of  Samuel.  The  writer 
of  this  work  did  not  use  all  that  was  in  the  earlier  book. 
The  story  of  Abimelech  (ix)  shows  no  sign  of  his  hand, 
and  was  probably  omitted  by  him,  and  his  work  thus 
ended  with  xv.  20.  On  the  other  hand  he  added  from  his 
own  pen  the  general  interpretation  of  the  course  of  history 
contained  in  ii.  6— Hi.  6,  and  the  formulae  which  precede 
and  follow  the  stories  of  the  greater  judges.  The  mention 
of  the  minor  judges  contained  no  traditions,  and  did  not 
illustrate  the  writer's  view  of  history,  therefore  they  have 
no  formulae  attached  to  them.  Some  system  of  chrono- 
logy may  have  been  present  in  the  earlier  work,  but  it 
was  now  brought  into  order,  and  was  intended  to  fill  up 
the  period  from  Joshua  to  Samuel. 

(e)  Between  the  editing  of  the  Deuteronomic  Book  of 
Judges  and  the  reception  of  the  work  into  the  Canon  was 
a  period  of  some  300  years.  During  this  time  the  book 
assumed  a  new  form.  A  preface  (i.  1 — ii.  5),  taken  in  the 
main  from  an  old  work,  was  put  before  the  Deuteronomic 
editor's  introduction.  The  stories  of  Abimelech  (ix),  the 
fate  of  Samson  (xvi),  the  Danite  image  (xvii,  xviii),  and 
the  Benjamite  outrage  (xix)  were  restored  from  the  pre- 
Deuteronomic  book.  As  Abimelech  was  not  reckoned 
among  the  judges,  the  mention  of  Sham  gar  (iii.  31)  was 
introduced  to  make  up  the  number  of  judges  to  twelve,  to 
correspond  with  the  number  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  For 
the  early  story  of  the  war  against  Benjamin  was  substituted 
the  late  edition  of  it  (xx,  xxi).  During  these  years  also 
numerous  short  notes  were  added  to  explain  geographical 
allusions,  or  give  further  details  as  to  persons,  or  emphasize 
particular  historical  teachings,  or  express  the  writer's 
disapprobation  of  actions. 

The  outline  given  above  is  of  course  merely  an  attempt, 
founded  entirely  on  internal  evidence,  to  supply  a  probable 
history  of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  Book  of  Judges. 

C    2 


2c  THE  BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

It  should,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  an  attempt, 
not  to  make  the  work  late,  but  to  find  out  how  much  of  it 
can  possibly  be  early.  The  only  fact  that  is  quite  certain 
is  that  our  book  in  its  present  form  became  a  canonical 
work  about  200  B.  c.  In  the  eight  or  nine  hundred  years 
that  elapsed  between  the  time  of  the  judges  and  the  first 
authoritative  appearance  of  our  book,  there  may  have 
been  ten  times  as  much  editing  and  recasting  of  the  work 
as  has  been  suggested  above.  There  was  no  special 
sanctity  attached  to  the  work  until  it  became  canonical. 
Every  fortunate  possessor  of  a  manuscript  of  it  was  at 
liberty  to  add  his  own  remarks,  and  it  was  open  to  any 
school  of  writers  to  recast  the  form  of  the  whole.  Such 
a  recasting  of  older  literature  took  place,  we  know,  after 
the  proclamation  of  Deuteronomy,  and  again  when  the 
priestly  law  was  proclaimed  later.  It  is  unfortunate  that 
in  the  changing  fortunes  and  frequent  exiles  and  sufferings 
of  the  Hebrew  people  the  manuscripts  of  their  literary 
works  have  perished,  so  that  the  earliest  manuscript  we 
have  of  the  Book  of  Judges  in  Hebrew  at  the  present  day 
is  not  earlier  than  the  tenth  century  of  our  era.  Under 
such  circumstances  internal  evidence  is  all  we  have  to 
rely  on,  and  probability,  not  certainty,  is  all  we  can  hope  to 
attain. 

The  Text. 

Although  the  present  commentary  is  in  the  first  place 
intended  to  be  one  on  the  English  and  not  the  Hebrew 
text,  it  is  necessary  at  times  to  take  account  of  some  of 
the  early  translations  in  order  to  obtain  the  best  sense. 

The  Hebrew  text  translated  in  our  English  version  is 
that  which  was  finally  fixed  in  its  present  form  by  bodies 
of  Jewish  scholars  called  Massoretes,  who  added  the 
vowels,  accents,  &c,  in  accordance  with  synagogal  tradition 
between  the  second  and  eighth  centuries  A.  D.  Before 
this  time  consonants  alone  were  written  in  Hebrew  manu- 
scripts, and  the  vowels  were  supplied  by  the  reader.     But 


INTRODUCTION  21 

the  same  consonants  might  have  very  different  meanings 
according  to  the  vowels  supplied,  hence  when  the  Mas- 
soretes  put  vowels  in  the  text,  they  gave  not  only  the 
text  itself,  but  also  their  interpretation  of  its  meaning. 
That  interpretation  was  the  one  of  the  synagogue  at  the 
time  when  they  did  their  work,  but  differs  at  times  from 
the  one  adopted  in  early  translations,  and  is  not  always 
the  most  probable.  Again,  Hebrew  words  were  written 
without  spaces  between  them,  and  sentences  were  not 
divided  from  one  another.  The  Massoretes  in  dividing 
up  words  and  sentences  only  represent  the  traditional 
interpretation  of  their  own  time,  and  the  versions  often 
divide  differently.  In  seeking  to  find  the  meaning  of  the 
original  Hebrew,  commentators  have  to  take  the  con- 
sonantal text  only  as  their  basis.  The  Massoretic  text 
with  its  vowels  and  marks  of  punctuation  is  valuable  as 
giving  the  traditional  interpretation  of  this  text  from  the 
second  century  after  Christ  onwards.  Other  interpretation 
and  help  is  to  be  derived  from  the  early  versions  \  one 
of  which  (the  Septuagint)  represents  a  text  some  three 
centuries  earlier  than  the  Massoretic.  There  is  yet  a  third 
means  by  which  the  scholar  may  be  able  to  come  nearer 
to  the  meaning  of  the  original  Hebrew  than  either  the 
Massoretes  or  the  early  translators.  Hebrew  is  one  of 
a  class  of  languages,  called  Semitic,  some  of  which  have 
preserved  old  meanings  of  words  which  have  dropped 
out  of  use  in  Hebrew,  or  become  changed  in  the  course 
of  history.  The  amount  of  ancient  Hebrew  preserved  to 
us  is  so  small  that  many  words  occur  once  only.     They 

1  The  chief  versions  used  in  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Hebrew  text  are  : — 

(1)  The  Greek  versions,  comprising  (a)  that  of  the  Septuagint 
made  in  Egypt  in  the  second  or  first  century  e.c.  ;  (b)  those  of 
Aquila,  Symmachus,  and  Theodotion,  all  made  before  the  time 
of  Origen  and  existing  only  in  fragments. 

(2)  The  Latin  or  Vulgate,  made  by  Jerome,  390-405  a.d. 

(3)  The  Syriac  or  Peshitta,  made  before  the  end  of  the  second 
century  a.  d. 


22  THE   BOOK   OF  JUDGES 

have  fallen  out  of  use,  and  their  meaning  has  been  for- 
gotten (see  note,  iii.  23).  In  such  cases  our  only  hope  is 
in  the  presence  of  such  a  word  in  the  kindred  languages 
of  Babylonia,  Arabia,  &c. 

Value  of  the  Book. 

The  traditions  collected  together  in  the  Book  of  Judges 
are  invaluable  to  the  student  of  the  history  and  religion 
of  Israel.  The  historian  who  may  seek  to  have  an 
orderly  succession  of  events  arranged  according  to  the 
years  in  which  they  happened  will  find  nothing  to  help 
him  here.  Even  the  chronology  introduced  by  a  later 
editor  is  too  vague  and  unreliable  for  such  a  purpose. 
But  if  he  be  willing  to  put  aside  this  modern  method  of 
writing  history,  and  be  content  to  know  how  a  number  of 
small  tribes  achieved  a  permanent  settlement  in  a  strange 
and  hostile  land,  how  their  heroes  acquired  fame,  how 
amidst  all  the  diverse  interests  of  different  tribes  the 
attachment  to  the  same  deity  prevented  their  absorption 
by  other  peoples  and  made  possible  the  later  union  into 
a  kingdom,  then  our  book  will  afford  material  enough. 
The  time  of  the  judges  is  that  in  which  some  of  the 
greatest  changes  a  people  can  undergo  took  place.  At 
the  beginning  of  this  period  the  Hebrews  were  a  nomadic 
people,  who  for  a  generation  had  wandered  from  place 
to  place  with  their  cattle  and  possessions  ;  at  the  close 
they  were  settled  agriculturists,  settled  in  a  country  of 
a  higher  civilization  than  any  of  that  generation  had 
known  before.  In  their  earlier  experience  the  tribal  con- 
nexion was  the  only  tie  that  bound  one  man  to  another ; 
but  in  this  period  the  elders  of  the  tribe  become  the 
elders  of  the  city,  and  a  man's  immediate  neighbours 
come  to  be  of  greater  importance  to  him  than  even  his 
fellow  tribesmen.  The  life  of  the  desert  had  been  simple 
and  hard,  but  the  latter  part  of  Gideon's  story  shows  that 
luxury  had  come  with  the  settled  life.     The  simple  life  of 


INTRODUCTION  23 

nomad  times  was  kept  before  the  people  at  a  later  time  by 
prophets,  Nazirites,  and  Rechabites  ;  but  the  people  were 
already  being  weakened.  There  were  cowards  in  Gideon's 
army  who  had  to  be  sent  home.  When  we  leave  aside 
for  the  time  the  additions  to  the  stories  we  have  a  rich 
treasury  of  popular  literature.  The  song  in  chapter  v, 
even  in  its  present  condition,  is  a  most  stirring  composi- 
tion, calling  upon  the  people  to  bless  its  God  for  His 
deliverance,  describing  His  march  to  their  rescue,  the 
gathering  of  the  tribes,  the  battle,  the  death  of  Sisera, 
and  that  last  fierce  irony  in  the  description  of  Sisera's 
household.  Very  different  from  this,  but  also  interesting, 
is  the  specimen  of  the  popular  fable  as  used  by  Jotham 
(in  chapter  ix).  The  other  stories  too  contain  descriptions, 
which  as  literature  claim  attention.  The  intense  pathos 
of  the  story  of  Jephthah's  daughter  (xi.  34-40)  is  the 
result  of  a  simplicity  and  restraint  in  the  narrative  which 
give  a  striking  power.  The  stories  of  Samson  will  always 
be  of  great  interest  to  the  lovers  of  folklore,  and  stand 
quite  by  themselves  in  old  Hebrew  literature. 

The  material  afforded  for  the  student  of  Israel's  religion 
is  great.  We  may  be  repelled  by  the  schematic  method 
adopted  by  the  Deuteronomic  editor  in  packing  the  stories 
into  parcels  carefully  wrapped  up  in  his  formulae,  but  we 
have  to  acknowledge  that  his  main  idea  was  justified. 
It  was  when  the  people  realized  the  sense  of  its  allegiance 
to  Yahweh  as  its  God  that  it  was  strong  and  made 
progress.  That  sense  of  allegiance  due  was  very  different 
from  the  ethical  conception  of  Yahweh-worship  taught 
later  by  the  prophets,  and  the  forms  of  worship  would 
not  have  been  tolerated  by  Deuteronomy.  There  is  no 
conception  of  spiritual  worship  or  moral  duty  in  our  book. 
Ehud  uses  the  name  of  God  to  secure  an  opportunity  for 
assassination ;  the  Hebrews  chant  the  praise  of  Jael  for 
her  treacherous  murder  ;  Gideon's  religion  is  full  of  super- 
stition, and  his  great  devotion  to  Yahweh  is  shown  by  his 
erection  of  an  image ;    Jephthah  sacrifices  his  daughter 


24  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 

to  Yahweh,  and  no  angel  interposes  to  prevent  him ; 
Samson's  deeds  are  mostly  characterized  by  an  entire 
absence  of  morality ;  the  Danites  steal  an  image  so  as 
to  worship  God ;  and  the  Levite's  relations  to  his  concubine 
are  not  above  reproach.  Yet  it  was  this  common  worship 
of  Yahweh,  imperfect  as  it  was,  that  brought  the  people 
together  later,  and  the  progress  from  this  condition  to  the 
spiritual  and  ethical  worship  taught  a  few  centuries  later 
by  the  prophets  will  ever  be  an  object-lesson  as  to  the  way 
in  which  God  has  revealed  Himself  to  a  people  and  pre- 
pared them  to  be  teachers  to  the  world. 


LITERATURE. 

Text. 
Weir,   T.    H.      History  of  the   Hebrew    Text    of  the  Old 
Testament. 

Introduction. 

Bennett,  W.  H.  and  Adeney,  W.  F.     Biblical  Introduction. 
Driver,   S.    R.     Introduction   to   the  Literature  of  the  Old 
Testament. 
Moore,  G.  F.,  'Judges'  in  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,  Vol.  ii. 
Konig,  Ed.,  'Judges'  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 

Commentaries. 

Moore,  G.  F.  A  Critical  and  Exegetical  Commentary  on 
Judges. 

The  articles  on  the  different  judges  in  the  two  Bible 
Dictionaries  mentioned  above. 

Geography. 
Smith,  G.  A.     The  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land. 


INTRODUCTION  25 


SOURCES. 

The  following  letters  are  placed  in  brackets  in  the  Text  to 
indicate  the  different  sources. 

[J.]     The  pre-Deuteronomic  Book  of  Judges. 

[D.]  The  Deuteronomic  editor's  additions.  These  some- 
times incorporate  material  from  the  older  sources, 
as  in  ii.  6 — iii.  6,  where  ii.  6,  8-io,  13,  20,  21,  23 
are  probably  thus  taken  over. 

[T.]  Material  derived  from  earlier  works  in  which 
traditions  were  collected. 

[A.]  Additions  made  after  the  Deuteronomic  editing. 
This  has  been  put  to  chapters  xx  and  xxi,  but 
such  additions  occur,  generally  as  short  notes,  all 
through  the  book l.  They  are  usually  explanations 
or  additions  made  to  heighten  the  effect  of  the 
narrative. 

1  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  separate  the  book  into  its 
constituent  parts  and  indicate  them  by  the  use  of  different 
colours  in  The  Book  of  Judges.  A  new  English  Translation 
printed  in  colours,  exhibiting  the  composite  structure  of  the 
book.  With  explanatory  notes  and  pictorial  illustrations,  by 
the  Rev.  G.  F.  Moore,  D.D.  (London  :  James  Clarke  &  Co., 
1898.) 


26  THE   BOOK   OF   JUDGES 


CONTENTS. 

Preface,     1.  i — ii.  5. 

Position  of  Hebrews  in  Palestine. 

Introduction,     ii.  6 — iii.  6. 

Author's   summary  and   interpretation  of  Hebrew  history 
during  this  period. 

The  Judges,     iii.  7— xvi.  31. 

Supplements : — 

(a)  The  Migration  of  the  Danites  (xvii.  1— xviii.  31). 

(b)  The  War  against  Benjamin  (xix.  1— xxi.  25). 


THE   BOOK  OF  JUDGES 


REVISED  VERSION   WITH   ANNOTATIONS 


THE   BOOK  OF  JUDGES 

[T]  And  it  came  to  pass  after  the  death  of  Joshua,  that  1 

The  Title.     '  The  Book  of  Judges ' ;  in  Hebrew  simply  'Judges. ' 

i.  i — ii.  5.  The  position  of  the  Hebrews  in  Palestine  at  the  beginning  of 
the  period  of  the  Judges y  and  some  incidents  connected  with  the  invasion. 
This  section  is  not  a  continuation  of  the  narrative  in  the  Book 
of  Joshua,  but  deals  with  the  period  covered  by  vii-xxi  of  that 
book.  The  Hebrews  are  in  verse  1  at  Gilgal  (Joshua  v-vi).  The 
Jordan  has  been  crossed,  Jericho  has  been  taken — else  they  had 
not  been  able  to  advance — and  different  parts  of  the  land  have 
been  allotted  for  the  tribes  to  conquer  (verse  3).  One  or  two 
striking  incidents  in  the  campaign  of  Judah  and  Simeon  are  told, 
with  a  brief  mention  of  what  Benjamin  was  unable  to  accomplish. 
From  these  three  tribes  of  South  Palestine  the  writer  turns  to 
the  '  House  of  Joseph  '  in  the  north,  one  notable  incident  being 
recorded — connected  with  the  capture  of  Beth-el.  Then  follows 
a  list  of  the  failures  of  different  tribes,  beginning  with  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh,  the  two  sons  of  Joseph,  continuing  with  those  of 
Zebulun,  Asher,  Naphtali,  and  Dan.  Issachar  and  Levi  are  not 
mentioned.  This  narrative  gives  a  different  idea  of  the  settlement 
of  the  Hebrews  in  Palestine  from  that  which  is  derived  from  the 
longer  account  in  the  Book  of  Joshua.  In  Joshua  the  Hebrews 
acting  together  conquer  Palestine,  destroying  the  original  inhabit- 
ants, and  then  dividing  the  land  among  the  tribes.  Here  the  tribes 
go  up  to  the  districts  which  have  fallen  to  them  by  lot  and  meet 
with  but  very  partial  success.  All  the  later  history  shows  that 
this  is  the  truer  account.  To  account  for  this  failure  of  the 
Hebrews  is  the  object  of  several  passages  in  the  first  part  of  the 
book  (ii.  1-5,  20-21,  22  ;  iii.  1-2),  and  may  be  said  to  be  one  of 
the  objects  for  which  the  whole  book  was  written. 

Some  parts  of  this  account  are  found  also  in  Joshua  (see 
verses  10-15,  2I>  27>  29\  an<3  as  tnev  do  not  seem  to  be  integral 
parts  of  the  narrative  there,  but  indeed  are  inconsistent  with 
the  general  purpose  of  the  book,  it  is  probable  that  they  were 
inserted  from  another  work  (now  lost),  from  which  also  this 
section  of  Judges  was  compiled. 

Although  the  material  was  thus  taken  from  an  older  source, 
it  was  evidently  not  put  before  the  Deuteronomic  Book  cf  Judges 


30  JUDGES  1.  2,  3.     T 

the  children  of  Israel  asked  of  the  Lord,  saying,  Who  shall 
go  up  for  us  first  against  the  Canaanites,  to  fight  against 

2  them  ?  And  the  Lord  said,  Judah  shall  go  up  :  behold,  I 

3  have  delivered  the  land  into  his  hand.     And  Judah  said 
unto  Simeon  his  brother,  Come  up  with  me  into  my  lot, 

until  late,  for  that  work  begins  in  ii.  6  with  the  events  which  hap- 
pened after  the  great  meeting  at  Shechem  recorded  in  Joshua  xxiv. 

i.  1-21.  The  invasion  of  South  Palestine.  The  tribe  of  Judah  is 
the  first  to  sever  itself  from  the  camp  of  the  Hebrews  at  Gilgal, 
and  together  with  Simeon  advances  along  the  road  from  the 
Jordan  valley  to  Jerusalem.  They  fight  with  the  king  of  Jerusalem, 
and  having  defeated  him,  pass  by  that  city,  turn  southwards,  and 
encounter  the  peoples  of  the  hill-country,  the  Negeb  and  the  low- 
land. The  tribe  of  Caleb,  a  Kenizzite,  occupies  Hebron,  and  a 
branch  of  it — the  family  ofOthniel — settles  in  Debir  and  its  district. 
The  Kenites,  who  went  up  with  Judah.  go  still  further  south,  and 
settle  among  the  Amalekites.  Hormah  is  occupied  by  Judah.  In 
the  hilly  country  the  Judahites  are  generally  successful,  but  they 
cannot  stand  against  the  nations  who  use  chariots  in  the  plains. 
Jerusalem  remains  in  the  power  of  the  Jebusites. 

1.  after  the  death  of  Joshua.  These  words  have  been 
introduced  here  to  connect  this  book  with  the  close  of  the  Book 
of  Joshua.  But  this  verse  tells  of  the  beginning  of  the  invasion  of 
Palestine,  and  Joshua  died  long  after.     Cf.  ii.  6-8. 

asked  of  the  Lord,  or  consulted  the  oracle  of  Yahweh,"as  also  in 
xviii.  5,  xx.  18  (cf.  Hos.  iv.  12 ;  Ezek.  xxi.  21).  Various  methods 
of  ascertaining  Yahweh's  will  were  employed  by  the  Hebrews, 
such  as  the  casting  of  lots,  the  use  of  the  ephod  with  Urim  and 
Thummim.  Dreams  and  natural  phenomena  like  the  rustling  of 
trees  were  interpreted  as  helps  for  guidance  in  action,  and 
magicians  were  employed  to  raise  the  dead  that  they  might 
disclose  the  secrets  of  the  future.  On  this  occasion  probably  lots 
were  cast. 

the  Canaanites  are  here  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine  generally. 
The  name  is  used  in  the  ethnographical  sense,  with  the  same 
meaning,  in  the  Egj'ptian  inscriptions.  The  geographical  word 
'Canaan'  is  used  by  the  Egyptians  from  1800  B.C.  onwards 
for  the  lowlands  on  the  Mediterranean  coast  from  Phoenicia 
southwards. 

2.  Judah  is  represented  genealogically  as  Jacob's  fourth  son 
by  Leah,  and  as  born  in  Haran  (Gen.  xxix.  35,  J).  As  a  tribe  it 
was  of  composite  origin  (see  verse  12),  though  at  the  writer's 
time  it  was  doubtless  more  homogeneous. 

3.  Simeon  :  a  tribe  whose  descent  is  ascribed  to  the  second  son 


JUDGES  1.  4.     T  31 

that  we  may  fight  against  the  Canaanites ;  and  I  likewise 
will  go  with  thee  into  thy  lot.  So  Simeon  went  with 
him.  And  Judah  went  up ;  and  the  Lord  delivered  the 
Canaanites  and  the  Perizzites  into  their  hand  :  and  they 

of  Jacob  and  Leah.  It  seems  to  have  been  early  absorbed  in 
Judah,  and  is  not  mentioned  either  in  the  Song  of  Deborah  (v) 
or  in  the  Blessing  of  Moses  (Deut.  xxxiii).  The  cities  allotted 
to  it  in  Joshua  xix.  2-6  are  counted  as  belonging  to  Judah  in 
Joshua  xv.  26-32,  42  (P). 

my  lot:  i.e.  that  part  of  the  land  which  has  fallen  to  me 
in  the  casting  of  lots.  It  is  that  district  which  Judah  is  to 
conquer,  if  it  can. 

i.  4-7.  The  main  road  from  Gilgal  to  South  Palestine  leads  direct 
to  Jerusalem,  and  if  its  ruler  was  hostile  Judah  and  Simeon  must 
have  fought  against  him  before  being  able  to  advance  further. 
Such  a  battle  seems  to  be  recorded  in  these  verses,  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  know  what  the  original  form  of  this  story  was.  Adoni-bezek 
was  evidently  king  of  Jerusalem,  for  his  people  carried  him  thither 
to  die  after  he  had  been  mutilated  by  the  Hebrews.  But  the 
name  Adoni-bezek  can  scarcely  be  correct,  for  the  second  part  of 
such  Canaanitish  names  was  usually  the  name  of  a  god,  not  as 
here  the  name  of  a  place.  In  Joshua  x  the  king  of  Jerusalem  is 
Adoni-zedek,  which  is  probably  correct  (cf.  the  name  Melchizedek). 
Of  a  place  called  Bezek  we  know  nothing.  A  city  of  this  name 
is  mentioned  in  1  Sam.  xi.  8,  but  is  in  the  north,  and  no  modern 
site  has  been  identified  as  the  Bezek  of  this  story.  Jerusalem 
was  evidently  not  captured  by  the  Hebrews  (verse  21),  but  by  the 
victory  over  its  king  they  were  enabled  to  pass  by  it  and  advance 
to  the  conquest  of  the  south. 

4.  the  Canaanites  and  the  Perizzites.  Four  names  of  peoples 
in  Palestine  are  mentioned  in  this  section— Canaanites,  Perizzites, 
Jebusites,  and  Amorites.  Of  these  the  Jebusites  are  always 
mentioned  in  connexion  with  Jerusalem  (see  verse  21).  The 
Perizzites  may  have  been  one  of  the  tribes  of  Palestine,  or  simply, 
as  the  meaning  of  the  word  suggests,  the  villagers  or  dwellers 
in  unwalled  places.  The  Canaanites  (cf.  verse  1)  in  the 
narrower  use  seem  to  be  the  lowlanders ;  the  Amorites  the 
highlanders.  The  former  name  is  naturally  common  in  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  Egyptians  who  approached  Palestine  from  the 
plains  on  the  Mediterranean  coast,  the  latter  in  those  of  the 
Assyrians  who  came  to  Palestine  through  the  hill-country  of 
the  north.  The  use  of  these  two  terms  in  O.T.  history  is  not 
ethnological  but  geographical,  and  varies  with  different  authors, 


32  JUDGES  1.  5-9.     T 

5  smote  of  them  in  Bezek  ten  thousand  men.  And  they 
found  Adoni-bezek  in  Bezek :  and  they  fought  against 
him,  and  they  smote  the  Canaanites  and  the  Perizzites. 

6  But  Adoni-bezek  fled ;  and  they  pursued  after  him,  and 
caught  him,  and  cut  off  his  thumbs  and  his  great  toes. 

7  And  Adoni-bezek  said,  Threescore  and  ten  kings,  having 
their  thumbs  and  their  great  toes  cut  off,  gathered  their 
meat  under  my  table :  as  I  have  done,  so  God  hath  re- 
quited me.  And  they  brought  him  to  Jerusalem,  and 
he  died  there. 

8  And  the  children  of  Judah  fought  against  Jerusalem, 
and  took  it,  and  smote  it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and 

9  set  the  city  on  fire.  And  afterward  the  children  of  Judah 
went  down  to  fight  against  the  Canaanites  that  dwelt  in 
the  hill  country,  and  in  the  South,  and  in  the  lowland. 

and  as  the  country  became  better  known.     The  verse  seems  to  be 
a  note  introduced  perhapsTrom  the  margin. 

6.  Mutilation  of  a  captive  to  render  him  unfit  for  further  warfare 
was  known  not  only  in  the  East,  but  even  among  the  Athenians, 
who  decreed  that  they  would  cut  off  the  right  thumbs  of  all 
Aeginetan  captives  to  render  them  unfit  for  wielding  a  spear. 

7.  There  were  many  kings  in  Palestine  and  the  surrounding 
countries,  for  a  kingdom  consisted  usually  of  a  city  and  the  district 
in  which  it  was  situated.     The  number  seventy  is  a  round  one. 

i.  8.      The  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

8.  Jerusalem.  This  was  one  of  the  ancient  cities  of  Palestine, 
and  is  mentioned  as  Uru-salim  in  the  Tell-el-Amarna  letters 
ca.  1400  b.c,  when  it  was  subject  to  Egypt.  At  this  time  it 
belongs  to  a  Canaanitish  tribe  called  Jebusites,  of  whom  we  know 
nothing,  although  they  are  several  times  mentioned  in  O.T.  books. 
The  site  of  this  city  was  the  south-east  hill  with  the  precipitous 
slopes  to  the  valley  of  Kidron  on  the  east  and  south,  and  separated 
from  the  other  hills  at  that  time  by  the  Tyropaean  valley  on  the 
west,  and  a  ravine  on  the  north,  both  now  filled  up  and  part  of 
the  city.  It  was  not  taken  from  the  Jebusites  until  David's  time 
(2  Sam.  v.  6-9). 

9.  The  southward  march.  The  three  divisions  of  the  south 
country  mentioned  here  are:  (1)  the  hill-country  from  Jerusalem 
to  the  Dead  Sea  on  the  east,  to  the  Negeb  on  the  south,  and  the 
'  lowland"  on  the  west;  (2)  the  Negeb  ^trans  luted  'the  South'inR.V.) 


JUDGES  1.  10-12.     T  33 

And  Judah  went  against  the  Canaanites  that  dwelt  in 
Hebron:  (now  the  name  of  Hebron  beforetime  was 
Kiriath-arba:)  and  they  smote  Sheshai,  and  Ahiman, 
and  Talmai.  And  from  thence  he  went  against  the  u 
inhabitants  of  Debir.  (Now  the  name  of  Debir  before- 
time  was   Kiriath-sepher.)     And   Caleb  said,    He   that  12 

mentioned  in  Egyptian  inscriptions,  i.  e.  the  district  south  of 
Hebron,  consisting  in  the  northern  half  of  hills,  in  the  southern  of  a 
dry  limestone  plateau ;  (3)  the  Shefelah  (<  lowland  ')  or  range  of  low 
hills  between  the  hill-country  and  the  plains  on  the  Mediterranean 
coast.    These  plains  do  not  enter  into  this  tradition  (see  verse  18). 

i  10-15.  The  Kenizzite  conquest  of  Hebron  and  Debir.  This 
incident  is  also  related  in  Joshua  xv.  13-19  (cf.  xiv.  13-15),  where 
verses  15-19  are  the  same  as  verses  11-15  here.  Verse  20  should 
be  restored  to  verse  id,  to  which  it  belongs.  In  verse  11  the 
pronoun  'he'  refers  to  Judah  in  verse  10,  but  in  the  more  original 
form  of  the  story  in  Joshua  it  refers  rightly  to  Caleb. 

10  (and  20).  Hebron,  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  Palestine 
according  to  Hebrew  tradition  (Num.  xiii.  22),  still  exists  as 
el-Khulil  in  a  valley  among  the  hills  about  twenty  mi  es  south  of 
Terusalem.  The  former  name  was  Kiriath-arba,  1.  e.  the  city  ot 
four,'  which  may  have  meant  the  city  of  four  quarters  or  divisions. 
Later  Jewish  tradition  explained  it  as  the  city  where  the  four  patri- 
archs Adam,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  were  buried.  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Tacob,  and  Joseph  are  all  associated  with  Hebron  in  Genesis. 
The  inhabitants  at  this  time  are  called  Canaanites  by  the  author, 
and  Anakites  (verse  20)  by  the  tradition  he  reproduces  (see  below). 
Sheshai,  Animan,  and  Talmai  are  the  names,  of  Aramaic 
type,  of  three  tribes  or  families.  In  verse  20  they  are  referred I  to 
as  'sons  of  Anak,'  but  this  means  literally  'sons  of  the  (long) 
neck,'  i.  e.  giants.  These  are  mentioned  several  times  in  Numbers, 
Deuteronomy,  and  Joshua,  and  seem  to  have  been  a  class  of  strong 
men  among  the  original  inhabitants  of  Palestine.  Another  tra- 
dition said  that  Joshua  annihilated  them  (Joshua  xi: 21,  aa D). 

11.  Debir  is  placed  in  the  Negeb  in  verse  15;  m  the  hill-country 
of  Judah  in  Joshua  xi.  21,  and  thus  was  probably  on_  the  border 
of  the  two  districts..  It  is  identified  with  edh-Dhahenyeh,  south- 
west of  Hebron.  ■  xr    „„„„. 

Kiriath-sepher  means  <  Book-city  in  Hebrew.  We  cannot, 
however,  be  certain  that  'sepher1  meant  'book  in  the  ancient 
language  of  South  Palestine.  According  to  Joshua  xv.  49  the  old 
name  was  Kiriath-sannah.  %  . 

12.  Caleb  was  a  Kenizzite,  and  so  an  Edomite  (Gen.  xxxvi.  4a;, 


34  JUDGES  1.  13-16.     T 

smiteth  Kiriath-sepher,  and  taketh  it,  to  him  will  I  give 

13  Achsah  my  daughter  to  wife.  And  Othniel  the  son  of 
Kenaz,  Caleb's  younger  brother,  took  it :  and  he  gave 

14  him  Achsah  his  daughter  to  wife.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  she  came  unto  Aim,  that  she  moved  him  to  ask  of 
her  father  a  field  :  and  she  lighted  down  from  off  her  ass ; 

15  and  Caleb  said  unto  her,  What  wouldest  thou?  And  she 
said  unto  him,  Give  me  a  blessing ;  for  that  thou  hast  set 
me  in  the  land  of  the  South,  give  me  also  springs  of 
water.  And  Caleb  gave  her  the  upper  springs  and  the 
nether  springs. 

16  And  the  children  of  the  Kenite,  Moses'  brother  in  law, 

who  had  joined  Judah  in  attacking  the  south  of  Palestine,  and 
especially  Hebron  and  its  neighbourhood.  According  to  Joshua  xiv. 
6-15  Moses  had  promised  him  this  district  which  he  had  spied 
out  for  the  Hebrews,  and  Joshua  gave  it  to  him  forty-five  years 
later.  In  David's  time  the  tribe  of  Caleb  was  distinguished  from 
Judah  (1  Sam.  xxx.  14;  cf.  1  Sam.xxv.  3),  but  later  was  identified 
with  it  so  completely  that  in  1  Chron.  ii  it  has  become  one  of  the 
most  important  branches  of  Judah.  The  name  Caleb  means  'dog,' 
and  is  thought  by  some  to  point  to  early  totemism. 

Achsah  is  mentioned  only  in  this  story  and  in  1  Chron.  ii.  49. 

13.  Othniel  is  mentioned  only  here,  in  iii.  9-1 1 ;  Joshua  xv.  17  ; 
and  1  Chron.  iv.  13. 

14.  that  she  moved  him.  The  Greek  and  Latin  versions  read 
1  and  he  incited  her,1  which  is  in  accordance  with  what  follows. 

15.  a  blessing- :  '  a  present'  as  in  R.  V.  marg.,  so  also  in  Gen. 
xxxiii.  11  ;  1  Sam.  xxv.  27,  xxx.  26  ;  2  Kings  v.  15. 

thou  hast  set  me  in  the  land  of  the  South  is  more 
accurate  than  R.  V.  marg,  'given  me  the  land  of  the  South.' 

spring's  of  water:  really  a  proper  name,  Gullath-mayim,  so 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  verse,  'And  Caleb  gave  her  Gullath- 
illith  and  Gullath-tahtith.'  These  were  probably  the  springs  now 
called  Seil  ed-Dilbeh,  three  groups  of  fourteen  springs  between 
el-Khulil  and  edh-Dhaheriyeh. 

i.  16.  The  Kenites.  The  Hebrew  text  is  imperfect  at  the  be- 
ginning, and  we  restore  from  the  Greek  '  the  children  of  Hobab 
the  Kenite,  Moses'  father-in-law.' 

16.  The  Kenites  were  a  nomadic  non-Israelitish  people,  men- 
tioned in  Gen.  xv.  19  with  the  Kenizzites,  also  in  the  Balaam 
prophecy,  Num.  xxiv,  21  f.    According  to  this  story  they  marched 


JUDGES  1.  17-19.     T  35 

went  up  out  of  the  city  of  palm  trees  with  the  children  of 
Judah  into  the  wilderness  of  Judah,  which  is  in  the  south 
of  Arad ;  and  they  went  and  dwelt  with  the  people.     And  17 
Judah  went  with  Simeon  his  brother,  and  they  smote  the 
Canaanites  that  inhabited  Zephath,  and  utterly  destroyed 
it.     And  the  name  of  the  city  was  called  Hormah.     Also  18 
Judah  took  Gaza  with  the  border  thereof,  and  Ashkelon 
with  the  border  thereof,  and  Ekron  with  the  border  there- 
of.    And  the  Lord  was  with  Judah ;  and  he  drave  out  19 
the  inhabitants  4/"  the  hill  country ;  for  he  could  not  drive 
out   the   inhabitants   of  the   valley,    because   they   had 

with  Judah  (to  whom  they  are  counted  in  1  Chron.  ii.  55)  from 
Jericho  (the  'city  of  palm  trees'),  but  if  we  accept  the  reading 
of  some  recensions  of  the  Greek  version  at  the  end  of  this  verse, 
and  read  '  with  the  Amalekite '  instead  of  '  with  the  people,'  they 
did  not  settle  in  Judah,  but  went  further  south  among  their  kins- 
men. This  is  supported  by  the  account  of  David's  correspondence 
with  them  in  1  Sam.  xv.  6  (and  cf.  1  Sam.  xxvii.  10,  xxx.  29). 
One  branch  of  the  people,  however,  wandered  to  the  north  (see 
iv.  11). 

the  city  of  palm  trees  is  Jericho.  See  Deut.  xxxiv.  3  ; 
Judges  iii.  13. 

the  wilderness  of  Judah,  which  is  in  the  south  of  Arad. 
The  '  wilderness  of  Judah  •  is  the  hilly  country  on  the  west  of  the 
Dead  Sea.  Arad  is  supposed  to  be  the  modern  Tell  'Arad,  south- 
east of  Hebron,  east  of  Beer-sheba.  The  introduction  of  the 
Negeb  (see  verse  4)  is  confusing.  The  Greek  version  reads  '  at 
the  descent '  (or  '  pass ')  of  Arad. 

i.  17.  The  destruction  of  Zephath.  The  name  Zephath  occurs 
only  here.  The  other  name,  Hormah,  was  associated  by  a  tradi- 
tion in  Num.  xxi.  3  with  its  destruction  by  Moses.  Its  site  is 
unknown. 

IT.  utterly  destroyed  it:  R.V.  marg.  'devoted,'  i.e.  made 
its  entire  destruction  an  offering  to  Yahweh  (so  Deut.  ii.  34,  iii.  6, 
and  frequently). 

18.  Judah  in  Philistia.  Gaza,  Ashkelon,  and  Ekron  are  all  in 
the  Philistine  plain,  south  of  Jaffa.  The  verse  is  clearly  unhistoric. 
It  is  inconsistent  with  the  next  verse,  and  is  contradicted  by  iii.  3 
and  all  the  later  history.  The  Greek  version  reads,  'Judah  did 
not  take,'  &c. 

19.  Here  we  have  a  general  summary  of  the  result  of  Judah 's 

D   2 


36  JUDGES  1.  20-25.     T 

20  chariots  of  iron.  And  they  gave  Hebron  unto  Caleb,  as 
Moses  had  spoken :  and  he  drave  out  thence  the  three 

21  sons  of  Anak.  And  the  children  of  Benjamin  did  not 
drive  out  the  Jebusites  that  inhabited  Jerusalem  :  but 
the  Jebusites  dwelt  with  the  children  of  Benjamin  in 
Jerusalem,  unto  this  day. 

22  And  the  house  of  Joseph,  they  also  went  up  against 

23  Beth-el :  and  the  Lord  was  with  them.  And  the  house 
of  Joseph  sent  to  spy  out  Beth-el.     (Now  the  name  of 

24  the  city  beforetime  was  Luz.)  And  the  watchers  saw  a 
man  come  forth  out  of  the  city,  and  they  said  unto  him, 
Shew  us,  we  pray  thee,  the  entrance  into  the  city,  and 

25  we  will  deal  kindly  with  thee.     And  he  shewed  them  the 

invasion.  The  new-comers,  with  all  the  vigour  of  nomads  fresh 
from  the  desert,  swept  the  quieter  settled  peoples  from  the  hills  ; 
but  in  the  plains,  where  chariots  were  used,  they  could  not  stand 
before  the  Canaanites. 

chariots  of  iron :  see  on  iv.  3. 

20.  See  verse  10. 

21.  Jerusalem.  The  words  of  this  verse  are  found  also  in 
Joshua  xv.  63,  except  that  there  we  read  'children  of  Judah' 
both  times  for  f  children  of  Benjamin,'  and  '  could  not  drive  them 
out'  for  '■did  not  drive  them  out.'  In  xix.  10  ff.  Jerusalem  is 
'this  city  of  the  Jebusites,'  'the  city  of  a  stranger,  where  there 
are  none  of  the  children  of  Israel.'  Jerusalem  was  first  captured 
by  David  (2  Sam.  v.  6ff.). 

the  Jebusites  were  a  people  of  whom  we  know  nothing  save 
that  they  held  Jerusalem  until  the  time  of  David. 

i.  22-29.  The  invasion  of  Central  Palestine.  Attention  is  now 
directed  from  the  south  to  the  centre  ;  from  Judah  to  the  house 
of  Joseph.     Again  we  have  nothing  but  a  fragment  of  tradition. 

i.  22-26.     The  capture  of  Beth-el. 

22.  the  house  of  Joseph  includes  Ephraim  and  Manasseh 
(Joshua  xvii.  17 f.),  and  Benjamin  according  to  2  Sam.  xix.  20. 

also  went  up,  as  Judah  had  gone  up.     See  verse  4. 

Beth-el,  now  a  village  called  Beitin,  nine  and  a  half  miles  north 
of  Jerusalem.  According  to  a  tradition  in  Gen.  xxviii.  19,  the 
change  of  name  from  Luz  to  Beth-el  was  associated  with  Jacob's 
dream  (but  cf.  xxxv.  6).  In  Joshua  xvi.  2,  Luz  and  Beth-el  are 
mentioned  as  two  separate  places. 


JUDGES  1.  26,  27.     T  37 

entrance  into  the  city,  and  they  smote  the  city  with  the 
edge  of  the  sword ;  but  they  let  the  man  go  and  all  his 
family.     And  the  man  went  into  the  land  of  the  Hittites,  26 
and  built  a  city,  and  called  the  name  thereof  Luz  :  which 
is  the  name  thereof  unto  this  day. 

And  Manasseh  did  not  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of '27 
Beth-shean  and  her  towns,  nor  of  Taanach  and  her  towns, 
nor  the  inhabitants  of  Dor  and  her  towns,  nor  the  inha- 
bitants of  Ibleam  and  her  towns,  nor  the  inhabitants  of 
Megiddo  and  her  towns  :  but  the  Canaanites  would  dwell 

26.  the  land  of  the  Kittites  is  probably  in  the  north  of 
Syria,  where  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  from  1500  b.  c.  and  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions  from  1100  b.c.  place  the  Hittites.  There 
were,  however,  Hittites  also  in  the  region  of  Hebron  (see  Gen. 
xxiii,  'children  of  Heth1).  The  site  of  the  new  Luz  is  not 
known. 

i.  27-34.  The  failure  of  different  tribes  to  subdue  the  whole  of  their 
allotted  territory.  Benjamin's  failure  has  been  mentioned  in  verse 
21.  Various  interpretations  of  Yahweh's  purpose  in  permitting 
this  failure  are  given  in  ii.  21  ff.,  Hi.  1,  and  hi.  2.  The  practical 
result  of  these  failures  was  to  prevent  for  a  long  time  any  united 
action  on  a  large  scale,  and  to  hinder  the  establishment  of  a 
kingdom  until  the  time  of  Saul  and  David. 

27.  Manasseh.     Cf.  Joshua  xvii.  n-13. 

Beth-shean  (the  modern  Beisan^  was  in  the  Jordan  plain  at 
the  east  end  of  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  and  so  commanded  the 
eastern  approach  to  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon. 

Taanach  (now  T'annuk),  and  Megiddo  (now  Lejjun\  four 
miles  away,  are  both  in  the  south  part  of  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon. 
Both  Beth-shean  and  Megiddo  lay  on  the  high-road  from  Damascus 
to  Egypt. 

Dor  (now  Tantura\  on  the  Mediterranean  coast,  about  ten 
miles  south  of  the  end  of  Mount  Carmel. 

Ibleam  is  probably  the  modern  Bel'ameh.  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  south  of  Jenln.  Some,  however, 
identify  it  with  Yebla,  about  seven  miles  north-west  of  Beth-shean. 

and  her  towns :  i.  e.  the  districts  of  which  these  cities 
were  the  centres.  The  importance  of  these  cities  lay  in  the  fact 
that  they  completely  commanded  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  the 
battlefield  of  Palestine,  and  must  have  cut  off  the  northern  tribes 
from  free  communication  with  those  of  the  centre  and  south.     It 


38  JUDGES  1.  28-33.     T 

28  in  that  land.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Israel  was 
waxen  strong,  that  they  put  the  Canaanites  to  taskwork, 
and  did  not  utterly  drive  them  out. 

39  And  Ephraim  drave  not  out  the  Canaanites  that  dwelt 
in  Gezer ;  but  the  Canaanites  dwelt  in  Gezer  among  them. 

30  Zebulun  drave  not  out  the  inhabitants  of  Kitron,  nor 
the  inhabitants  of  Nahalol;  but  the  Canaanites  dwelt 
among  them,  and  became  tributary. 

31  Asher  drave  not  out  the  inhabitants  of  Acco,  nor  the 
inhabitants  of  Zidon,  nor  of  Ahlab,  nor  of  Achzib,  nor  of 

32  Helbah,  nor  of  Aphik,  nor  of  Rehob :  but  the  Asherites 
dwelt  among  the  Canaanites,  the  inhabitants  of  the  land : 
for  they  did  not  drive  them  out. 

33  Naphtali  drave  not  out  the  inhabitants  of  Beth-shemesh, 
nor  the  inhabitants  of  Beth-anath ;  but  he  dwelt  among 

is  strange  that  none  of  these  cities  were  really  in  the  'lot'  of 
Manasseh.  Three  were  in  the  territory  of  Issachar  (not  mentioned 
in  this  chapter) ;  the  other,  Dor,  was  in  Asher.    Cf.  Joshua  xvii.  11. 

28.  The  Philistines  later  took  the  country  as  far  as  Beth-shean, 
and  David  seems  to  have  secured  these  cities  for  Israel  by  his 
victories  over  these  people.  It  was  under  Solomon  that  the 
Canaanites  were  put  to  forced  labour  (see  1  Kings  ix.  20,  21). 

29.  Ephraim.     Cf.  Joshua  xvi.  10. 

Gezer  (the  modern  Tell  Jezar),  on  the  edge  of  the  Shephelah, 
a  few  miles  east  of  Ekron.     The   Canaanites   retained  the  city 
until  it  was  taken  by  Egypt  and  given  to  Solomon's  Egyptian  wife, 
when  Solomon  rebuilt  it  as  a  fortress  (1  Kings  ix.  15-17). 
i.  30-33.     The  invasion  of  North  Palestine. 

30.  Zebulun.     Cf.  Joshua  xix.  10-16. 

Kitron  is  mentioned  here  only,  Nahalol  here  and  in  Joshua 
xix.  15,  xxi.  35.     Neither  can  be  identified  now. 

31.  Asher.     Cf.  Joshua  xix.  24-31. 

Acco   (now   'Akka),   Zidon  (now  Saida\  and  Achzib  (now 
ez-Zib,  north  of  'Akka)  are  all  on  the  coast.     The  sites  of  the 
other  cities  mentioned  can  only  be  conjectured. 
33.  Naphtali.     Cf.  Joshua  xix.  32-39. 

Beth-shemesh  (not  identified ),  and  Beth-anath  (perhaps  the 
modern  'Ainitha,  six  miles  north  from  Kedesh  Naphtali  [Qadcs]), 
were  ancient  sacred  places,  the  former  dedicated  to  the  Sun 
(Shcmesh),  the  latter  to  the  goddess  Anath  (see  iii.  31). 


JUDGES  1.  34—2.  i.     T  39 

the  Canaanites,  the  inhabitants  of  the  land :  nevertheless 
the  inhabitants  of  Beth-shemesh  and  of  Beth-anath 
became  tributary  unto  them. 

And  the  Amorites  forced  the  children  of  Dan  into  the  34 
hill  country :   for  they  would  not  suffer  them  to  come 
down  to  the  valley :   but  the  Amorites  would  dwell,  in  35 
mount  Heres,   in   Aijalon,  and  in   Shaalbim :   yet   the 
hand  of  the  house  of  Joseph  prevailed,  so  that  they 
became  tributary.     And  the  border  of  the  Amorites  was  36 
from  the  ascent  of  Akrabbim,  from  the  rock,  and  upward. 

And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  up  from  Gilgal  to  2 

34,  35.  Dan.  Cf.  Joshua  xix.  40  ff.  The  fate  of  Dan  differed 
from  that  of  most  of  the  other  tribes,  in  that  they  were  pushed 
back  into  the  hills  and  never  succeeded  in  subduing  the  natives. 
Discouraged  by  their  failure,  a  number  of  them  afterwards  went 
north  and  settled  near  the  source  of  the  Jordan  (see  xviii). 
The  Canaanites  of  the  territory  they  had  forsaken  were  later 
oppressed  by  the  house  of  Joseph,  according  to  verse  35,  lit.  ( the 
hand  of  the  house  of  Joseph  was  heavy  on  them.' 

the  Amorites  are  here  mentioned  for  the  first  time  (see 
verse  4). 

mount  Heres  is  mentioned  here  only. 

Aijalon  is  the  present  Yalo,  about  thirteen  miles  from 
Jerusalem  on  the  way  to  Jaffa. 

Shaalbim  is  not  known  certainly.  Selbit,  about  three  miles 
from  Yalo,  has  been  suggested  as  the  site. 

i.  36.      The  southern  boundary  0/ Palestine. 

36.  the  ascent  of  Akrabbim  (i.  e.  '  the  pass  of  Scorpions'), 
generally  identified  with  the  modern  Naqb-es-Safa  on  the  road 
from  Petra  to  Hebron.  According  to  Joshua  xv.  3  it  was  on  the 
border  of  Judah  and  Edom,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  this 
verse  we  must  read  '  Edomites '  (as  in  the  Greek  translation) 
instead  of  'Amorites.'  The  site  of  Sela  (R.V.  marg.)  is  not 
known. 

The  Edomites  in  Hebrew  tradition  figure  as  descendants  of  Esau, 
and  thus  akin  to  the  Hebrews.  As  neighbours  they  are  constantly 
mentioned  from  the  time  of  Moses,  until  one  of  them  (Herod) 
became  king  of  the  Jews. 

ii.  1-5.  Transference  of  the  religious  centre  from  Gilgal  to  Bo- 
chim  (Beth-el).  The  tribes  of  Israel  have  now  settled  in  Palestine, 
and  begun  (rather  than  finished)  their  work  of  conquest.     The 


4o  JUDGES  2.i.     T 

Bochim.     And  he  said,  I  made  you  to  go  up  out  of 

camp  at  Gilgal  (i.  i)  is  deserted  save  for  the  presence  of  the  Deity. 
Yahweh  still  remains  in  His  abode  on  Mount  Sinai,  whence  He  will 
come  later  to  help  the  people  in  battle  (v.  4),  and  whither  Elijah 
will  go  later  still  to  visit  Him  (1  Kings  xix.  8  ff.) ;  but  the  ark 
has  been  among  the  people,  and  the  'angel  of  Yahweh'  has 
accompanied  them  (Exod.  xxxii.  34).  The  ark  is  mentioned  once 
only  in  Judges,  and  is  there  at  Beth-el  (xx.  27),  and  thither  the 
angel  now  goes  up.  The  original  tradition  regarding  this  is 
told  in  verses  1  a  and  5  b.  '  And  the  angel  of  Yahweh  came  up 
from  Gilgal  to  Beth-el  (see  below),  and  they  sacrificed  there  to 
Yahweh.' 

Between  the  two  parts  of  this  tradition  the  editor  introduces  an 
explanation  of  Yahweh's  reason  for  not  giving  the  Israelites 
complete  possession  of  the  land.  This  he  does  in  the  form  of  an 
address  by  the  angel.  Yahweh  had  commanded  the  Israelites  to 
make  no  covenant  with  the  Canaanites,  but  to  break  down  their 
altars.  (In  chapter  i  we  were  told  they  were  unable  to  conquer 
the  Canaanites,  because  of  their  superior  strength,  especially  in 
the  plains.)  Because  they  have  not  done  this  they  are  blamed, 
and  warned  that  their  allies  will  be  adversaries  to  them  and  the 
local  religions  will  be  a  snare  to  them.  These  words  thus  form 
a  general  introduction  to  the  many  troubles  narrated  in  the 
following  chapters.  (For  another  introduction  and  explanation 
see  iii.  1  ff.) 

1.  the  angel  of  the  LORD  in  this  book  is  Yahweh  Himself, 
appearing  in  a  form  perceptible  by  the  human  senses.  He  appears 
to  Gideon  (vi.  11-22),  and  to  Manoah  (xiii),  both  times  apparently 
in  human  form,  and  is  mentioned  in  the  Song  of  Deborah  (v.  23). 
In  vi.  14-16  and  xiii.  22  it  is  clear  that  he  is  identical  with 
Yahweh. 

Qilg-al,  between  the  Jordan  and  Jericho,  was  the  first  camp 
of  the  Hebrews  on  the  west  of  the  Jordan  (Joshua  iv.  19).  At  the 
present  day  a  hill  and  a  well  in  this  neighbourhood  have  preserved 
the  name  in  an  Arabic  form,  Jiljulia  (three  miles  east  of  Jericho). 

Bochim  ('weepers'  or  ' weeping').  As  the  place  only 
received  this  name  on  account  of  the  action  that  follows,  the 
Greek  version  is  probably  right  in  reading  '  Beth-el '  here  (see  i.  23). 
This  town  is  mentioned  as  a  religious  centre  in  xx.  18,  xxi.  2  ;  cf. 
1  Sam.  vii.  16,  x.  3  ;  and  the  ark  was  put  there  according  to 
xx.  27. 

ii.  ib~5a.      The  address  of  the  angel  of  Yahweh. 

I  made  yon  to  go  up.  The  Hebrew  means  '  I  will  bring  you 
Up.'  The  beginning  of  the  speech  is  incomplete,  and  the  simplest 
thing  is  to  restore  '  and  '  before  this  sentence.  This,  according 
to  Hebrew  idiom,  would  give  the  verb  the  perfect  sense  which  is 


JUDGES  2.  2-6.     T  D  41 

Egypt,  and  have  brought  you  unto  the  land  which  I  sware 
unto  your  fathers  ;  and  I  said,  I  will  never  break  my  cove- 
nant with  you  :   and  ye  shall  make  no  covenant  with  2 
the  inhabitants  of  this  land ;  ye  shall  break  down  their 
altars  :  but  ye  have  not  hearkened  unto  my  voice :  why 
have  ye  done  this?     Wherefore  I  also  said,  I  will  not  3 
drive  them  out  from  before  you }  but  they  shall  be  as 
thorns  in  your  sides,  and  their  gods  shall  be  a  snare  unto 
you.     And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  4 
spake  these  words  unto  all  the  children  of  Israel,  that 
the  people  lifted  up  their  voice,  and  wept.     And  they  5 
called  the  name  of  that  place  Bochim :  and  they  sacri- 
ficed there  unto  the  Lord. 

[D]  Now  when  Joshua  had  sent  the  people  away,  the  6 

required.     The  reference  to  Yahweh's  oath  to  the  forefathers  is 
frequent  in  Deuteronomy. 

2.  The  covenant  involving  the  destruction  of  Canaanitish  altars 
is  mentioned  in  Exod.  xxxiv.  10-15. 

why  have  ye  done  this  ?  rather,  '  What  have  you  done  ? ' 

3.  Wherefore  I  also  said:  on  another  occasion.  Cf.  Joshua 
xxiii.  13  ;  Num.  xxxiii.  55,  from  which  passages  the  words  '  as 
thorns '  are  supplied  in  the  English  version  to  make  sense. 

and  their  gods  shall  be  a  snare  unto  you.  The  figure  is 
tal<en  from  such  passages  as  Exod.  xxiii.  33,  xxxiv.  12  ;  Deut. 
vii.  16. 

5.  Bochim.  As  the  name  does  not  occur  again,  we  may  gather 
that  it  was  merely  given  on  this  occasion,  but  did  not  prevail. 
There  was  a  spot,  however,  near  Beth-el,  called  Allon  Bachuth 
('  tree  of  weeping '),  connected  by  a  tradition  in  Gen.  xxxv.  8  with 
the  burial  of  Rebekah's  nurse:  cf.  also  the  'valley  of  Baca,'  Ps. 
lxxxiv.  6. 

ii.  6— iii.  6.  Introduction. 

In  this  section  the  Deuteronomic  editor  announces,  partly  in 
his  own  words,  partly  adopting  the  words  he  found  in  the  book 
before  him,  the  general  course  of  the  history  he  is  going  to  write 
in  detail  later.  He  begins  where  Joshua  left  off  (in  Joshua  xxiv.  28), 
and  passes  briefly  from  the  time  of  that  leader  to  the  days  of  those 
who  followed  the  survivors  of  his  generation.  These  forsake 
Yahweh  and  serve  the  native  gods.  Yahweh  is  angry,  and 
delivers  the  Hebrews  into  the  hand  of  their  enemies,  but  in  their 


42  JUDGES  2.  7-9.     D 

children  of  Israel  went  every  man  unto  his  inheritance 

7  to  possess  the  land.  And  the  people  served  the  Lord 
all  the  days  of  Joshua,  and  all  the  days  of  the  elders  that 
outlived  Joshua,  who  had  seen  all  the  great  work  of  the 

8  Lord,  that  he  had  wrought  for  Israel.  And  Joshua  the 
son  of  Nun,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died,  being  an 

9  hundred  and  ten  years  old.  And  they  buried  him  in 
the  border  of  his  inheritance  in  Timnath-heres,  in  the 
hill  country  of  Ephraim,  on  the  north  of  the  mountain 

distress  raises  up  'judges'  who  deliver  them.  After  the  death  of 
a  judge,  however,  the  people  are  worse  in  their  ingratitude  than 
before,  and  Yahweh  determines  not  to  enable  them  to  destroy  the 
Canaanites.  Lists  are  then  given  of  the  peoples  on  their  borders, 
and  of  those  among  whom  they  are  placed  who  oppressed  the 
people  or  ensnared  them  by  their  alliances. 

ii.  6-10.  Transition  fivm  the  time  of  Joshua  to  the  period  of  the 
Judges.  Verses  6-9  are  identical  with  Joshua  xxiv.  28-30,  except 
for  one  or  two  variations. 

6.  Now  when  Joshua  sent  the  people  away.  This  act  is  un- 
intelligible here,  because  not  connected  with  any  other  event. 
In  Joshua  it  follows  the  great  gathering  at  Shechem. 

unto  his  inheritance  to  possess  the  land:  to  his  allotted 
portion  to  enter  into  possession  of  the  land. 

*7.  the  elders  that  outlived  Joshua:  lit.  'who  prolonged  days 
after  Joshua,'  an  expression  common  in  Deuteronomic  writings 
(Deut.  iv.  40,  v.  33,  &c). 

who  had  seen:  in  Joshua  'who  had  known'  (cf.  verse  10). 

9.  in  the  border:  i.e.  'within  the  territory.'  It  is  mentioned 
in  Joshua  xix.  49,  50. 

Timnath-heres  ('  territory  of  the  Sun  ').  In  Joshua  '  heres ' 
is  inverted  into  '  serah '  to  avoid  the  heathen  allusion  to  Sun- 
worship.  Some  identify  the  place  with  the  modern  Tibnah,  about 
twelve  and  a  half  miles  ENE.  of  Lydda,  others  with  Kefr  Harith, 
nine  miles  south  of  Shechem.  Mount  Caash  must  be  a  hill  south 
of  one  of  these  sites.     It  is  otherwise  unknown. 

the  hill  country  of  Ephraim.  The  hill  country  or  mountain 
range  of  Ephraim  was  that  part  of  the  highlands  of  Palestine 
which  extended  from  north  of  Jerusalem  to  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon. 
With  plains  on  the  north-east  and  west,  and  a  related  people 
(the  Judahites)  on  the  southern  continuation  of  their  mountains, 
the  Ephraimites  seem  to  have  been  the  most  firmly  seated 
people    of  the   Hebrews,  and   the   least  disturbed    by  invasions 


JUDGES  2.  10-12.     D  43 

of  Gaash.     And  also  all  that  generation  were  gathered  io 
unto  their  fathers :  and  there  arose  another  generation 
after  them,  which  knew  not  the  Lord,  nor  yet  the  work 
which  he  had  wrought  for  Israel. 

And  the  children  of  Israel  did  that  which  was  evil  ii 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  served  the  Baalim  :  and  they  12 

of  neighbouring  tribes.  It  was  doubtless  owing  to  this  in  part 
that  they  regarded  themselves  as  being  superior  to  other  Hebrew 
tribes,  as  when  they  rebuked  Gideon  (viii.  1-3)  and  Jephthah 
(xii.  1  ff.),  though  in  the  latter  case  they  learned  that  their 
superiority  ceased  when  they  left  their  own  hills. 

10.  all  that  generation :  that  is,  the  generation  of  those  who 
survived  Joshua. 

ii.  11-13.  The  faithless)  less  of  Israel.  Inverses  11  and  12  we 
have  the  first  part  of  the  formula  which  is  used  by  the  post- 
Deuteronomic  writer  (see  Introduction),  with  but  slight  variations, 
to  tell  how  after  the  death  of  each  of  the  greater  judges  the 
Hebrews  ceased  to  give  all  their  worship  to  Yahweh  alone 
(see  iii.  7,  12,  iv.  1,  vi.  i,  viii.  33,  x.  6,  xiii.  1).  Here  it  comes 
after  the  death  of  Joshua,  but  is  stated  in  general  terms  as  an 
introduction  to  the  whole  work.  The  sin  of  the  Hebrews  is 
described  as  ingratitude.  Yahweh  had  brought  them  up  from 
Egypt,  yet  they  gave  part  of  their  worship  to  the  Canaanitish 
gods.  Even  the  worshippers  of  Yahweh  at  this  period  believed 
in  the  existence  of  other  gods,  although  they  recognized  that 
their  worship  was  due  to  their  own  God  only.  While  they  knew 
that  Yahweh  had  done  so  much  for  them  in  the  past,  they  thought 
that  the  local  deities  would  do  more  for  them  in  their  new 
settlements,  hence  their  apostasy. 

11.  the  Baalim  were  the  local  gods.  Baal  (of  which  Baalim  is 
the  plural)  means  '  possessor,'  and  is  used  for  'husband '  as  possessor 
of  his  wife,  and  for  a  god  as  possessor  of  a  land,  district,  or  city. 
Except  therefore  when  speaking  generally  of  a  god,  it  was 
necessary  to  identify  him  by  some  added  word,  and  this  word 
was  usually  the  name  of  his  possession,  whether  a  place,  as  the 
Baal  of  Tyre,  the  Baal  of  Peor,  &c,  or  a  part  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  as  Baal-zebub  ('  the  Baal  of  flies,'  if  the  word  has  been 
correctly  transmitted).  Or  he  might  be  called  the  Baal  of  a 
covenant  ('  Baal-berith,'  see  viii.  33).  The  Baal  of  a  place  had 
sometimes  a  proper  name  of  his  own ;  thus  Melkart  was  the 
name  of  the  Baal  of  Tyre.  When  the  Hebrews  gained  possession 
of  Palestine  their  God  Yahweh  became  the  Baal  of  the  country 
from  their  point  of  view,  and  so  the  word  enters  into  some  of 


44  JUDGES  2.  13-15.     D 

forsook  the  Lord,  the  God  of  their  fathers,  which  brought 
them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  followed  other  gods, 
of  the  gods  of  the  peoples  that  were  round  about  them, 
and   bowed    themselves   down    unto   them :    and    they 

13  provoked  the  Lord  to  anger.     And  they  forsook  the 

14  Lord,  and  served  Baal  and  the  Ashtaroth.  And  the 
anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Israel,  and  he 
delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  spoilers  that  spoiled 
them,  and  he  sold  them  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies 
round  about,  so  that  they  could  not  any  longer  stand 

15  before  their  enemies.     Whithersoever  they  went  out,  the 


their  proper  names,  as  Jerubbaal  and  Saul's  son  Eshbaal.  In 
later  years,  when  the  term  had  become  offensive,  writers  changed 
Eshbaal  ('man  of  Baal ')  into  Ishbosheth  ('man  of  shame'),  and 
the  name  of  Jonathan's  son  Mephibosheth  was  probably  Mephibaal 
originally.  The  Baals  were  generally  nature-gods.  Their  altars 
were  on  high-places,  and  offerings  were  made  of  animals  and  the 
produce  of  the  soil.  Sacred  posts  (asherahs)  and  stones  (niasse- 
bahs)  were  accessories  to  the  altars.  The  Baals  had  their  priests, 
whose  extravagances  appear  in  the  story  of  the  sacrifice  on  Mount 
Carmel  (1  Kings  xviii.  20  ff.).  Gross  immorality  and  the  sacrifice 
of  human  life  were  sometimes  associated  with  the  worship  of  the 
Baals. 

13.  This  verse  being  a  mere  reiteration  in  slightly  varying 
form  of  the  preceding,  it  is  likely  that  the  editor  has  inserted  it 
as  it  stands  from  the  earlier  work.  It  follows  very  naturally  on 
verse  10. 

the  Ashtaroth :  should  be  read  Ashtoreth,  this  being  the 
Hebrew  name  of  the  goddess  Astarte,  i.  e.  the  Phoenician  '  Ashtart,' 
worshipped  also  in  Babylonia  as  '  Ishtar,'  in  Arabia  as  'Athtar,' 
in  Syria  as  '  Athar.'  In  this  verse  'the  Baal  and  the  Ashtoreth' 
is  used  as  a  general  expression  for  the  native  deities  male  and 
female. 

ii.  14,  15.  Yahwcli's  anger  and  punishment  of  Israel.  This  is 
the  second  part  of  the  Deuteronomic  formula  (see  verses  11-13) 
in  general  terms.  In  the  other  places  where  it  is  used  the  name 
of  the  particular  people  into  whose  power  Yahweh  gave  Israel  is 
substituted.     (See  iii.  8,  12,  iv.  2,  vi.  r,  x.  7,  xiii.  1.) 

15.  they  went  out:  i.  e.  to  war,  as  in  Deut.  xxviii.  7  ;  2  Sam. 
x'    1    Stt.;  and  see  Judges  xi.  3. 


JUDGES  2.  16-19.     D  45 

hand  of  the  Lord  was  against  them  for  evil,  as  the  Lord 
had  spoken,  and  as  the  Lord  had  sworn  unto  them  :  and 
they  were  sore  distressed.     And  the  Lord  raised  up  16 
judges,  which  saved  them  out  of  the  hand  of  those  that 
spoiled  them.     And  yet  they  hearkened  not  unto  their  17 
judges,  for  they  went  a  whoring  after  other  gods,  and 
bowed  themselves  down  unto  them :  they  turned  aside 
quickly  out   of  the  way  wherein  their  fathers  walked, 
obeying  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  ;  but  they  did 
not  so.     And  when  the  Lord  raised  them  up  judges,  18 
then  the  Lord  was  with  the  judge,  and  saved  them  out 
of  the  hand  of  their  enemies  all  the  days  of  the  judge : 
for  it  repented  the  Lord  because  of  their  groaning  by 
reason  of  them  that  oppressed  them  and  vexed  them. 
But  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  judge  was  dead,  that  they  19 

as  the  LORD  had  sworn :  according  to  the  traditions  recorded 
in  Deut.  xxviii,  &c. 

16.  Yahweh  raised  up  judges  who  delivered  the  Hebrews. 

17.  This  verse  seems  to  be  a  note  introduced  later  into  the 
Deuteronomic  introduction.  The  Deuteronomic  editor  in  verses 
18,  19,  and  through  the  book  generally,  gives  the  impression  that 
the  Hebrews  worshipped  Yahweh  during  the  lifetime  of  the  judges, 
and  only  fell  away  again  after  their  death.  But  a  stricter  view  in 
later  times  judged  the  setting  up  of  an  image  even  for  Yahweh- 
worship  as  sin,  and  such  a  story  as  that  of  Gideon's  ephod 
(viii.  27)  would  lead  to  the  opinion  expressed  in  this  verse,  which 
may  have  been  only  a  marginal  note  at  first,  but  has  now  become 
part  of  the  text. 

they  went  a  whoring"  after  other  gods.  This  figure  for 
idolatry  is  worked  out  at  length  in  Hosea  i-iii,  and  occurs  in 
Exod.  xxxiv.  15,  16  ;  Deut.  xxxi.  16,  &c. 

18-22.  Yahweh  was  with  the  judges  whom  He  had  raised  up, 
and  helped  them,  but  when,  after  their  death,  the  people  stubbornl3' 
returned  to  the  worship  of  the  local  gods,  He  was  angry  and 
declared  He  would  not  after  this  drive  out  the  Canaanitish  peoples 
unconquered  by  Joshua,  and  thus  He  would  test  Israel  to  know 
whether  they  would  walk  in  the  way  of  their  (pious)  fathers 
or  not. 

18.  it  repented  the  LORD.  The  correct  translation  is,  'Yah- 
weh  was  sorry,'  or  t  was  moved  to  pity.' 


46  JUDGES  2.  20—3.  2.     D 

turned  back,  and  dealt  more  corruptly  than  their  fathers, 
in  following  other  gods  to  serve  them,  and  to  bow  down 
unto  them ;  they  ceased  not  from  their  doings,  nor  from 

20  their  stubborn  way.  And  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was 
kindled  against  Israel ;  and  he  said,  Because  this  nation 
have  transgressed  my  covenant  which  I  commanded 
their  fathers,  and  have  not  hearkened  unto  my  voice ; 

2 1  I  also  will  not  henceforth  drive  out  any  from  before  them 

22  of  the  nations  which  Joshua  left  when  he  died:  that 
by  them  I  may  prove  Israel,  whether  they  will  keep  the 
way  of  the  Lord  to  walk  therein,  as  their  fathers  did  keep 

23  it,  or  not.  So  the  Lord  left  those  nations,  without  driving 
them  out  hastily;  neither  delivered  he  them  into  the 
hand  of  Joshua. 

3      Now  these  are  the  nations  which  the  Lord  left,  to 

prove  Israel  by  them,  even  as  many  as  had  not  known 

2  all  the  wars  of  Canaan ;  only  that  the  generations  of  the 


20.  my  covenant :  already  referred  to  in  ii.  2. 

21.  '  Since  they  have  transgressed  My  covenant  (or  command^, 
I  on  My  part  will  not  continue  driving  out  the  peoples  of  Palestine, 
as  I  did  while  Joshua  lived  and  the  people  served  Me  alone  ;  I 
will  in  future  not  drive  out  a  single  man  before  them  among  the 
nations  who  were  not  conquered  at  the  time  when  Joshua  died.' 
Who  these  nations  were  is  explained  more  in  detail  in  iii.  3  ff. 

22.  Another  reason  for  Yahweh's  action  is  given  in  iii.  1,  2. 

23.  This  verse  cannot  be  by  the  same  author  as  verse  21,  for 
there  Yahweh's  determination  is  made  after  Joshua's  death. 

iii.  1-6.      The  unconquered  nations  and  IsraeTs  relation  to  them. 

1,  2.  The  first  half  of  verse  1  connects  with  ii.  22  (the  purpose 
of  proving  Israel  being  repeated),  and  is  continued  in  verse  3. 
The  words  between  seem  to  be  a  note  or  notes  introduced  into 
the  text.  In  them  is  given  another  (see  ii.  22)  explanation  of 
Yahweh's  purpose  in  not  utterly  destroying  the  Canaanites, 
namely,  that  He  did  not  wish  the  people  to  settle  down  into  ease 
and  ignorance  of  warfare. 

The  question  why  the  Hebrew  tribes  were  not  able  to  annihilate 
the  Canaanites  is  one  that  evidently  exercised  the  minds  of  later 


JUDGES  3.  3-5.     D  47 

children  of  Israel  might  know,  to  teach  them  war,  at  the 
least  such  as  beforetime  knew  nothing  thereof;  namely,  3 
the  five  lords  of  the  Philistines,  and  all  the  Canaanites, 
and  the  Zidonians,  and  the  Hivites  that  dwelt  in  mount 
Lebanon,  from  mount  Baal-hermon  unto  the  entering  in 
of  Hamath.  And  they  were  for  to  prove  Israel  by  them,  4 
to  know  whether  they  would  hearken  unto  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord,  which  he  commanded  their  fathers 
by  the  hand  of  Moses.     And  the  children  of  Israel  dwelt  5 

writers.  Thus  we  have  in  chapter  i  the  fact  mentioned  that  they 
could  not,  because  of  the  superiority  of  the  inhabitants.  In  the 
preface  (ii.  1  ff.)  this  failure  is  ascribed  to  Yahweh,  and  a  reason 
given  for  His  action  ;  in  ii.  22  another  reason  is  assigned,  and  in 
these  verses  still  another. 

3.  The  Philistines  formed  a  confederacy  of  five  cities  (Ashdod, 
Gaza,  Ashkelon,  Gath,  and  Ekron),  hence  the  'five  lords.'  Cf. 
Joshua  xiii.  3  ;  1  Sam.  vi.  16-18. 

all  the  Canaanites  must  mean  all  who  had  not  yet  been 
conquered,  or  the  term  '  Canaanite '  is  used  in  the  restricted 
sense  (used  elsewhere  in  certain  passages)  of  those  who  dwelt  in 
the  west  and  south-west  lowlands  of  Palestine  (cf.  i.  1). 

the  Zidonians :  Joshua  xiii.  4,  standing  here,  as  in  Homer, 
for  the  Phoenicians,  as  Zidon  was  the  chief  city  of  the  Phoenician 
confederacy  for  a  long  period. 

the  Hivites  that  dwelt  in  mount  Lebanon.  The  Hivites 
dwelt  in  the  interior  of  Palestine,  not  in  the  north.  We  must 
read  '  Hittites.'  The  same  mistake  is  made  in  Joshua  xi.  3, 
where  the  Greek  translation  has  the  correct  name  ;  cf.  i.  26. 

Baal-hermon  should  probably  be  '  Baal-gad  under  mount 
Hermon,'  as  in  Joshua  xiii.  5,  xi.  17,  a  place  on  the  west  side  of 
Hermon. 

Hamath:  the  modern  Hama  on  the  Orontes,  north  of 
Damascus. 

the  entering  in  of  Hamath :  i.  e.  the  frontier  or  boundary 
of  Hamath  is  mentioned  several  times  in  the  O.  T.  as  the  northern 
boundary  of  Israel  (Amos  vi.  14 ;  1  Kings  viii.  65  ;  2  Kings 
xiv.  25,  &c). 

5.  In  verse  3  the  nations  that  lay  on  the  boundaries  of  Israel 
were  enumerated.  In  this  verse  are  mentioned  those  among 
whom  they  lived.  Ten  times  in  the  O.  T.  these  six  peoples  are 
named  together,  and  generally  in  the  same  order.  In  four  other 
passages  the  Girgashites  are  added. 


48  JUDGES  3.  6,  7.     D 

among  the  Canaanites  ;  the  Hittite,  and  the  Amorite,  and 

6  the  Perizzite,  and  the  Hivite,  and  the  Jebusite :  and 
they  took  their  daughters  to  be  their  wives,  and  gave 
their  own  daughters  to  their  sons,  and  served  their  gods. 

7  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  that  which  was  evil  in 


For  the  Canaanites,  Amorites,  Perizzites,  and  Jebusites,  see 
i.  1,  4. 

The  Hittites  in  this  verse  are  most  probably  the  people  of  that 
name  who  lived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hebron  (Gen.  xxiii). 
It  is  doubtful  whether  these  were  in  any  way  related  to  the 
Hittites  of  the  north  (see  i.  26  and  iii.  3). 

The  Hivites  were  also  pre-Israelitish  inhabitants  of  Palestine. 
Their  chief  settlements  seem  to  have  been  in  Central  Palestine 
(Joshua  ix.  7 ;  Gen.  xxxiv.  2). 

iii.  7 — xvi.  31.  The  Judges. 

This  section  mentions  thirteen  men  who  saved  or  judged  or 
ruled  over  Israel.  Of  these  Shamgar  was  probably  introduced 
later  into  the  Deuteronomic  book  (see  iii.  31) ;  the  account  of 
Othniel  (iii.  7-1 1)  was  composed  by  the  Deuteronomic  editor; 
Tola  (x.  2),  Jair  (x.  3),  Ibzan  (xii.  9),  Elon  (xii.  11),  and  Abdon 
(xii.  14)  were  men  whose  influential  position  was  known  from 
their  tombs,  but  of  whom  no  deeds  are  recorded.  The  great  body 
of  the  section  is  occupied  with  the  record  (taken  from  an  earlier 
work)  of  the  deeds  of  six  men,  four  of  whom — Ehud,  Barak  (with 
Deborah),  Gideon  and  Jephthah — saved  their  tribes  from  oppres- 
sors; while  Abimelech  did  not  save  any  one,  but  his  deeds  are 
incorporated  in  the  book  because  he  was  a  son  of  Gideon  and 
established  a  kingdom  of  his  own  in  Central  Palestine;  and  the 
popular  stories  of  Samson  are  introduced  apparently  because  his 
wild  deeds  harassed  an  enemy  of  the  Southern  Hebrews.  (For 
further  details  see  Introduction,  and  notes  to  each  story.) 

iii.  7-11.  Othniel.  An  examination  of  these  verses  shows 
that  they  contain  the  usual  Deuteronomic  writer's  formula — 
Israel's  sin,  Yahweh's  anger  and  punishment,  the  people's 
repentance,  the  appearance  of  a  deliverer  and  consequent  rest  of 
the  land  for  a  term  of  years,  the  death  of  the  judge.  In  the  other 
stories  of  the  greater  judges  the  formula  is  the  setting  for  tradi- 
tions derived  from  older  sources,  but  here  we  have  nothing  else 
but  the  names  Othniel  and  Cushanrishathaim,  king  of  Aram. 
Apparently  there  were  no  traditions  extant  as  to  the  deeds  of 
Othniel,  and  he  was  introduced  here  to  give  Judah  a   'judge.* 


JUDGES  3.  8-u.     D  49 

the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  forgat  the  Lord  their  God, 
and  served  the  Baalim  and  the  Asheroth.     Therefore  the  8 
anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Israel,  and  he 
sold  them  into  the  hand  of  Cushan-rishathaim  king  of 
Mesopotamia  :  and  the  children  of  Israel  served  Cushan- 
rishathaim  eight  years.     And  when  the  children  of  Israel  9 
cried  unto  the  Lord,  the  Lord  raised  up  a  saviour  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  who  saved  them,  even  Othniel  the  son 
of  Kenaz,  Caleb's  younger  brother.     And  the  spirit  of  10 
the  Lord  came  upon  him,  and  he  judged  Israel ;  and  he 
went  out  to  war,  and  the  Lord  delivered  Cushan-rish- 
athaim king  of  Mesopotamia  into  his   hand :    and  his 
hand  prevailed  against  Cushan-rishathaim.    And  the  land  n 
had  rest  forty  years.    iVnd  Othniel  the  son  of  Kenaz  died. 

Whether  the  invasion  of  the  Aramaeans  (who  lived  far  away  in 
the  north)  and  their  defeat  by  Othniel  are  historical  or  not,  we 
cannot  tell  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of 
this  period. 

7.  See  ii.  11-22,  especially  ii.  13. 

Asheroth  are  usually  sacred  trees  or  posts  near  an  altar. 
Here,  however,  the  word  is  the  plural  of  the  name  of  a  goddess, 
'  Asherah,'  who  appears  in  inscriptions  of  Cyprus  as  a  tree- 
goddess  (so  also  in  1  Kings  xviii.  19  ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  4). 

8.  Cushan-rish.ath.aiiu  in  its  Hebrew  form  means  'Ethiopian 
of  double  wickedness,'  and  must  be  either  a  Hebrew  perversion 
of  a  foreign  name,  or  it  is  a  descriptive  term  used  of  a  king  whose 
name  has  not  been  handed  down. 

Mesopotamia  (in  Hebrew,  Aram-naharaim)  is  mentioned 
as  Naharin  in  Egyptian  inscriptions,  and  is  the  part  of  North 
Syria  west  of  the  Euphrates. 

9.  Othniel  the  son  of  Kenaz.     See  i.  13. 

10.  the  spirit  of  the  LORD  came  upon  him.  To  the  spirit 
of  Yahweh  is  attributed  in  the  O.  T.  whatever  seems  to  be  above 
the  power  of  man,  whether  physical  or  spiritual,  whether  good  or 
bad.  Poetic,  prophetic,  artistic  skill  are  due  to  its  influence. 
Madness  is  caused  by  it.  In  this  book  it  is  used  of  purely 
physical  force  in  the  story  of  Samson  (xiv.  6,  19,  xv.  14),  and  of 
superhuman  courage  in  great  difficulties  (here  and  in  vi.  34,  xi.  29}. 

judged:  used  here  in  the  sense  of  'delivered.' 

11.  forty  years:  i.  e.  a  generation.     See  Introduction. 


50  JUDGES  3.  12,13.     D 

[3  And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which  was 
evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  :  and  the  Lord  strengthened 
Eglon  the  king  of  Moab  against  Israel,  because  they  had 

3  done  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  And 
he  gathered  unto  him  the  children  of  Amnion  and 
Amalek ;    and   he   went   and    smote   Israel,    and    they 

iii.  12-30.  Ehud  of  Benjamin.  When  the  Hebrews  crossed 
the  Jordan,  leaving  only  a  few  of  their  number  east  of  that  river, 
the  peoples  who  had  been  in  part  dislodged  by  them  began  to 
return,  and  even  pushed  across  the  river  in  their  wake.  One  of 
the  first  results  was  the  capture  of  Jericho,  which  was  now  no 
longer  the  centre  of  Hebrew  life,  but  only  an  outlying  city  of 
Benjamin.  Yet  it  was  an  important  place,  for  it  commanded  the 
roads  from  the  Jordan  to  the  hill-country  of  the  south  and  centre 
of  Palestine  ;  and  Eglon,  king  of  Moab,  who  with  the  help  of  the 
Ammonites  and  Amalekites  had  captured  it,  was  able  to  oppress 
the  Hebrews  for  eighteen  years,  or  nearly  half  a  generation. 
These  were  delivered  by  the  assassination  of  Eglon.  Ehud,  a  man  of 
Benjamin,  was  sent  with  tribute  to  the  Moabite  king,  and  obtaining 
by  stratagem  a  secret  audience  with  him,  killed  him,  escaped,  and 
led  an  attack  of  Hebrews  of  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim,  who 
drove  back  the  Moabites  and  secured  rest  for  two  generations. 

The  Deuteronomic  framework  is  clear  at  the  beginning  in 
verses  i2-i5a  and  at  the  end  in  verses  29,  30.  What  comes 
between  is  taken  from  the  older  work. 

12.  Eglon  is  unknown  but  for  this  incident.  The  name 
occurs  several  times  as  that  of  a  place  (six  times  in  Joshua  x, 
and  in  xii.  12,  xv.  39),  but  not  of  a  person. 

Moab.  A  people  inhabiting  the  country  east  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  According  to  Num.  xxi.  26,  the  Amorites  had  robbed  them 
of  their  territory,  north  of  the  Arnon,  just  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Hebrews.  In  Judges  xi.  18  the  Arnon  is  looked  upon  as  the 
north  boundary  of  Moab.  The  Hebrews,  having  conquered 
the  Amorites,  allotted  the  old  Moabite  territory  north  of  Arnon  to 
Reuben,  thus  creating  in  Moab  an  unfriendly  feeling  which 
manifested  itself  continually  in  later  history.  Moab  is  mentioned 
in  Egyptian  inscriptions  about  1300  b.  c.  Hebrew  tradition 
considered  the  people  akin  to  the  Hebrews  (Gen.  xix.  37,  &c). 
An  inscription  of  Mesha,  king  of  Moab  in  the  ninth  century  b.  c,  is 
now  in  Paris.  The  dealings  of  the  Hebrews  with  the  Moabites 
before  they  entered  Palestine  are  recorded  in  Num.  xxi — xxiii. 

13.  children  of  Amnion.     See  x.  7. 

Amalsk  appears  in  Gen.  xxxvi.  12  as  an  Edomite  tribe.     It 


JUDGES  3.  14-19-     DJ  51 

possessed  the  city  of  palm  trees.     And  the  children  of  14 
Israel  served  Eglon  the  king  of  Moab  eighteen  years. 
But  when  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord,  the  15 
Lord  raised  them  up  a  saviour,  Ehud  the  son  of  Gera,  the 
Benjamite,  a  man  left-handed  :   [J]  and  the  children  of 
Israel  sent  a  present  by  him  unto  Eglon  the  king  of  Moab. 
x\nd  Ehud  made  him  a  sword  which  had  two  edges,  of  a  16 
cubit  length ;  and  he  girded  it  under  his  raiment  upon 
his  right  thigh.     And  he  offered  the  present  unto  Eglon  17 
king  of  Moab:  now  Eglon  was  a  very  fat  man.     And  18 
when  he  had  made  an  end  of  offering  the  present,  he 
sent  away  the  people  that  bare  the  present.     But  he  19 
himself   turned   back   from   the  quarries   that  were   by 

was  nomadic,  and  wandered  chiefly  in  the  desert  land  north  of 
Sinai,  but  is  found  also  in  many  other  districts.  Some  of  its 
clans,  as  the  Kenites  (cf.  i.  16),  joined  the  Hebrews,  but  the 
majority  were  continually  fighting  against  them.  They  are 
mentioned  again  in  vi.  3,  33,  vii.  12,  x.  12  (v.  14). 
the  city  of  palm  trees:  i.e.  Jericho,  as  in  i.  16. 

15.  Ehud  appears  as  a  clan-name  in  1  Chron.  vii.  10. 

Gera  was  a  clan  of  Benjamin  (see  Gen.  xlvi.  21 ;  cf.  1  Chron. 
viii.  3ff.).  Another  member  of  it  appears  in  the  time  of  David 
(2  Sam.  xvi.  5,  &c). 

a  man  left-handed:  lit.  '  lame  in  his  right  hand.'  Owing  to 
this  he  carried  his  sword  on  his  right  thigh,  where  it  was  not 
looked  for,  and  so  escaped  the  notice  of  the  king's  guards.  For 
left-handedness  in  Benjamin  see  xx.  16. 

a  present :  here,  as  in  2  Sam.  viii.  2,  6,  means  tribute. 

16.  a  cubit  is  explained  in  the  Talmud  as  the  length  of  the 
fore-arm  minus  the  fingers.  The  word  used  here  is  not  found  in 
any  other  part  of  the  O.  T. 

upon  his  right  thigh:  so  that  he  could  draw  it  with  his 
left  hand. 

18,  19.  Ehud  sent  away  the  carriers  who  had  brought  the 
tribute,  he  himself  accompanying  them  a  short  distance  and  then 
returning. 

19.  the  quarries :  or  {  graven  images  '  (R.  V.  marg.\  or  '  carved 
stones,'  probably  a  part  of  an  ancient  place  of  worship.  The 
name  Crilgal  seems  to  mean  a  sacred  circle  of  stones.  Such 
circles  have  been  found  still  existing  in  Palestine  ^see  the  reports 

E   2 


52  JUDGES  3.  20-23.     J 

Gilgal,  and  said,  I  have  a  secret  errand  unto  thee,  O 
king.  And  he  said,  Keep  silence.  And  all  that  stood 
by  him  went  out  from  him.  And  Ehud  came  unto  him; 
and  he  was  sitting  by  himself  alone  in  his  summer 
parlour.  And  Ehud  said,  I  have  a  message  from  God 
unto  thee.  And  he  arose  out  of  his  seat.  And  Ehud 
put  forth  his  left  hand,  and  took  the  sword  from  his 
right  thigh,  and  thrust  it  into  his  belly :  and  the  haft 
also  went  in  after  the  blade ;  and  the  fat  closed  upon 
the  blade,  for  he  drew  not  the  sword  out  of  his  belly; 
and  it  came  out  behind.  Then  Ehud  went  forth  into 
the  porch,  and  shut  the  doors  of  the  parlour  upon  him, 


of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  also  Conder,  Syrian  Stone  Lore, 
and  Heth  and  Moab. 

I  have  a  secret  errand  unto  thee,  O  king'.  This  must  be 
the  message  he  sent  in  to  the  king  by  the  servants.  His  own 
entrance  is  mentioned  in  the  next  verse. 

and  he  (the  king)  said,  Keep  silence:  i.  e.  leave  me  in  privacy ; 
then  the  courtiers  left,  and  Ehud  was  introduced.  The  words 
'unto  thee,  O  king,'  however,  seem  to  indicate  that  Ehud  was 
already  in  his  presence,  and  it  is  possible  that  this  account  was 
taken  by  the  editor  from  one  of  his  sources,  and  the  first  part  of 
the  next  verse  from  the  same  tradition  (but  differently  worded)  in 
the  other. 

20.  summer  parlour  :  R.  V.  marg.  '  upper  chamber  of  cooling,' 
i.  e.  the  room  on  the  flat  roof  common  in  the  East.  It  must, 
however,  be  regarded  as  completely  enclosed,  as  the  officials 
evidently  could  not  see  from  the  outside  that  he  was  dead  when 
they  were  anxious  about  him  (verses  24  ff.). 

he  (the  king)  arose  out  of  his  seat.  This  may  be  out  of 
respect  to  the  message  of  the  Hebrew  God,  or  it  may  be  closely 
connected  with  what  follows,  to  show  how  Ehud  got  an  opportunity 
to  kill  him. 

22.  The  last  sentence  of  this  verse  is  unintelligible  as  it  stands. 
Neither  the  text  nor  the  marginal  readings  are  probable. 

23.  The  word  translated  porch  is  utterly  unknown.  It 
evidently  means  something  connected  with  the  exit— porch,  stair- 
case, vestibule,  or  the  like. 

the  doors  of  the  parlour  2  i.  e.  the  two  wings  of  the  door,  as 
in  xvi.  3. 


JUDGES  3.  24-2S.     J  53 

and   locked   them.     Now  when  he  was  gone  out,  his  24 
servants  came ;  and  they  saw,  and,  behold,  the  doors  of 
the   parlour  were   locked;    and    they   said,    Surely   he 
covereth  his  feet  in  his  summer  chamber.     And  they  25 
tarried  till  they  were  ashamed :  and,  behold,  he  opened 
not  the  doors  of  the  parlour ;   therefore  they  took  the 
key,    and   opened   them :    and,   behold,   their   lord  was 
fallen  down  dead  on  the  earth.     And   Ehud   escaped  26 
while  they  tarried,  and  passed  beyond  the  quarries,  and 
escaped  unto  Seirah.     And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  27 
was  come,  that  he  blew  a  trumpet  in  the  hill  country  of 
Ephraim,  and  the  children  of  Israel  went  down  with  him 
from  the  hill  country,  and  he  before  them.     And  he  said  28 
unto  them,  Follow  after  me  :  for  the  Lord  hath  delivered 
your  enemies  the  Moabites  into  your  hand.     And  they 
went  down  after  him,  and   took   the  fords  of  Jordan 

24.  he  covereth  his  feet :  a  euphemism.  '  No  doubt,  he  is 
relieving  himself  in  the  cabinet  of  the  cool  chamber.' 

25.  till  they  were  ashamed:  at  their  wits'  end,  not  being 
able  to  account  for  this  long  seclusion. 

26.  From  the  way  in  which  the  '  carved  stones  '  ('  quarries  '  in 
the  English  version)  are  mentioned  here  and  in  verse  19,  it  seems 
as  if  they  were  on  the  boundary  beyond  which  one  was  out  of  the 
territory  in  actual  possession  of  the  Moabites.  The  form  of  the 
Hebrew  sentences  suggests  that  Ehud  reached  this  boundary 
before  the  officials  discovered  that  their  king  had  been  assassinated, 
and  then  was  able  to  get  to  Seirah  (where  he  was  probably  safe  for 
the  time). 

The  site  of  Seirah  is  unknown,  but  would  naturally  be  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim. 

27.  28.  When  Ehud  came  to  Seirah  he  gave  the  signal  for 
fighting  (blew  a  trumpet,  as  in  vi.  34),  and  his  fellow  tribesmen 
in  the  hill-country  followed  him  as  he  led  them  down  to  the 
plains  of  the  Jordan  valley,  when  they  learned  what  he  had  done. 

2*7.  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim  :  see  ii.  9. 

28.  Follow  after  me.  The  Hebrew  reads  '  Pursue  after  me, '  but 
the  Greek  version  '  Come  down  after  me '  is  better,  and  agrees 
with  the  latter  part  of  the  verse  'and  they  went  down  after  him.' 

the  fords  of  Jordan  against  the  Moabites:  or  R.  V.  marg., 


54  JUDGES  3.  29-31.     J  DA 

against  the  Moabites,  and  suffered  not  a  man  to  pass 

29  over.  [D]  And  they  smote  of  Moab  at  that  time  about  ten 
thousand  men,  every  lusty  man,  and  every  man  of  valour; 

30  and  there  escaped  not  a  man.  So  Moab  was  subdued 
that  day  under  the  hand  of  Israel.  And  the  land  had 
rest  fourscore  years. 

31  [A]  And  after  him  was  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath, 
which  smote  of  the  Philistines  six  hundred  men  with 
an  ox  goad :  and  he  also  saved  Israel. 

1  toward  Moab.'     The  meaning  given  in  the  text  seems  more  in 
accordance  with  the  use  of  the  same  phrase  in  vii.  24  and  xii.  5. 

29.  The  numbers  are,  as  usual,  large,  and  intended  for  effect,  not 
for  accuracy.  The  number  ten  thousand  occurs  again  in  i.  4, 
iv.  6,  vii.  3,  xx.  34. 

every  lusty  man,  and  every  man  of  valour:  all  (of  them) 
vigorous  and  valiant  men. 

iii.  31.  Shamgar.  In  this  verse  we  have  the  first  of  the  so- 
called  "minor  judges'  (the  others  are  Tola  in  x.  2,  Jair  in  x.  3, 
Ibzan  in  xii.  9,  Elon  in  xii.  11,  Abdon  in  xii.  14).  The  Deutero- 
nomic  formula  is  absent  from  the  accounts  of  these  men.  The 
others  are  brought  into  the  chronological  scheme  of  the  book,  but 
here  there  is  no  chronology.  It  is  most  probable  that  his  name, 
taken  from  v.  6,  was  introduced  later  than  the  Deuteronomic 
compilation  to  make  up  the  number  of  twelve  Israelitish  heroes  to 
correspond  with  the  number  of  the  tribes,  since  Abimelech 
was  not  regarded  as  worthy  to  be  counted  a  judge. 

31.  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath.  The  first  name  is  not  Hebrew, 
but  resembles  a  Hittite  name  '  Sangar,'  which  occurs  in  Ass}'rian 
inscriptions  of  the  ninth  century  b.  c.  The  second  is  that  of  a 
Canaanite  goddess,  of  whom  there  is  a  representation  on  an 
Egyptian  monument  in  the  British  Museum. 

the  Philistines.     See  iii.  3  and  chapter  xiv. 
an  ox  goad  as  used   in   Syria   to-day   is  a  long  stick  with 
a  blade  at  one  end  for  cleaning  the  ploughshare,  and  often  a  spike 
at  the  other  for  pricking  the  animal  drawing  the  plough. 

Similar  stories  are  told  of  Samson  (Judges  xv.  15)  and  of 
Shammah  ben  Agee  (in  2  Sam.  xxiii.  n  ff.).  It  may  be  that  tlie 
act  of  this  latter,  owing  to  similarity  of  name,  has  been  transferred 
to  Shamgar,  who  was  only  known  from  the  mention  of  his  name 
in  the  Song  of  Deborah,  where  he  is  certainly  not  represented  as 
having  'saved  Israel.' 


JUDGES  4.  i-?(.     D  55 

[D]  And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which  was  4 
evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  when  Ehud  was  dead.    And  2 
the  Lord  sold  them  into  the  hand  of  Jabin  king  of 
Canaan,  that  reigned  in  Hazor;   the  captain  of  whose 
host   was    Sisera,    which    dwelt    in    Harosheth    of    the 
Gentiles.     And   the  children  of  Israel  cried   unto  the  3 

iv-v.  Deborah  and  Barak.  The  Deuteronomic  formula  here 
is  contained  in  iv.  1-3,  23,  24,  v.  3ib.  The  rest  is  taken  from 
the  older  book.  The  compiler  of  this  older  work  had  as  usual 
(see  Introd.)  two  accounts  of  the  same  events  before  him,  but  as 
one  is  in  prose  and  the  other  in  verse,  he  has  not  blended  them 
into  one  stor}',  but  given  first  the  prose  version  then  the  poetical, 
connecting  the  two  bj'  the  words  in  v.  1. 

iv.  1-24.  Prose  story  of  Barak.  Jabin,  a  Canaanite  king  in 
Hazor,  oppresses  the  Hebrews  for  twenty  years,  until  Deborah 
a  prophetess  incites  Barak  of  Naphtali  to  rouse  the  Hebrews  to 
fight  for  their  freedom.  He  gathers  his  army  at  Tabor,  and  Sisera 
the  general  of  Jabin,  who  has  his  troops  in  Harosheth,  advances  to 
the  river  Kishon.  Barak  comes  down  from  Tabor  to  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon  and  defeats  Sisera,  who,  as  he  flees  on  foot,  is  invited 
to  rest  in  the  tent  of  Jael,  the  wife  of  a  friendly  Kenite  chief,  and 
while  asleep  is  murdered  by  her.  From  the  day  of  this  battle  the 
Hebrews  gradually  prevail  more  and  more  against  Jabin,  until  at 
last  they  utterly  destroy  his  power. 

iv.  1-3.      The  author'' s  introduction  as  to  other  stories  (see  Introd.). 

1.  when  Ehud  was  dead.  The  story  of  Barak  is  thus  directly 
connected  with  that  of  Ehud,  the  mention  of  Shamgar  having  been 
introduced  later. 

2.  Jabin  king*  of  Canaan.  The  general  term  Canaan  is  used 
here  instead  of  Hazor  fsee  Joshua  xi.  1-5  and  verse  17  here),  just 
as  Judah  is  put  for  Caleb  in  i.  n,  and  'children  of  Israel;  is  used 
continually  in  this  book  instead  of  the  name  of  the  particular  tribe 
concerned.  According  to  Joshua  xi.  1-T3  Jabin  was  defeated  by 
Joshua  and  Hazor  burned. 

Hazor  is  mentioned  in  an  Egyptian  papyrus,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  in  the  Amarna  letters.  The  exact  site  is  not 
known,  but  it  was  apparently  near  Kedesh-Naphtali,  with  which 
city  it  is  mentioned  in  Joshua  xix.  36;  2  Kings  xv.  29. 

Sisera.  This  name  occurs  again  only  in  the  lists  of  Nethinim 
(Ezra  ii.  53  ;  Neh.  vii.  55),  who  were  probably  foreigners. 

Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles,  i.  e.  Harosheth  of  the  nations  or 
foreigners,  thus  distinguished  probably  from  a  Hebrew  Harosheth 
(cf.  Isa.  ix.  1),  is  identified  with  the  present  el-Harathlyeh  on  the 


56  JUDGES  4.  4-6.     D  J 

Lord  :  for  he  had  nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron ;  and 
twenty  years  he  mightily  oppressed  the  children  of  Israel. 

4  [J]  Now  Deborah,  a  prophetess,  the  wife  of  Lappidoth, 

5  she  judged  Israel  at  that  time.  And  she  dwelt  under 
the  palm  tree  of  Deborah  between  Ramah  and  Beth-el 
in  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim :    and  the  children  of 

6  Israel  came  up  to  her  for  judgement.  And  she  sent 
and  called  Barak  the  son  of  Abinoam  out  of  Kedesh- 

north  side  of  the  Kishon,  not  far  from  Megiddo,  though  some  would 
place  it  near  the  Huleh  ('  waters  of  Merom  ').  Chariots  would  be  of 
more  use  in  the  former  site. 

3.  chariots  of  iron.  Judging  by  the  representations  on 
Egyptian  and  Assyrian  monuments,  these  were  probably  two- 
wheeled  vehicles  of  wood,  open  behind,  with  fittings  and  ornaments 
of  iron.  Each  carried  a  driver,  a  fighter,  and  a  shield-bearer.  As 
the  plains  (Esdraelon,  Sharon,  &c.)  were  the  key  of  Palestine,  the 
possession  of  chariots  by  the  Canaanites  was  long  a  hindrance  to 
the  full  occupation  of  the  land  by  the  Hebrews.  David  captured 
many  of  them,  and  Solomon  adopted  them  for  his  own  army. 

4.  Deborah  ('  a  bee ')  is  called  a  prophetess,  not  in  an}'  technical 
sense  but  as  in  the  case  of  Miriam  (Exod.  xv.  20),  because  she  was 
inspired  by  Yahweh. 

she  judged  Israel,  i.  e.  sat  as  arbitrator  in  disputes.  As  there 
were  no  courts,  it  was  the  custom  to  bring  disputes  to  some  person 
renowned  for  wisdom.  The  decisions  of  the  'judge'  were  enforced 
by  the  power  of  public  opinion.  The  title  'judge'  in  the  usual 
sense  of  this  book  ('  deliverer')  belongs  to  Barak. 

5.  dwelt  { better,  as  in  marg.  '  sat ')  under  the  palm  tree  of 
Deborah,  for  arbitrating,  as  was  customary  in  early  days  among 
many  peoples.  In  cities  these  meetings  for  justice  were  held  in 
the  city-gate. 

It  is  curious  that  a  tradition  in  Gen.  xxxv.  8  knows  of  a  sacred 
tree  in  this  same  neighbourhood,  associated  with  the  memory  of 
Deborah  the  nurse  of  Rebekah.  It  is  possible  that  the  writer 
of  this  verse  confused  the  two  persons  of  the  same  name.  The 
Deborah  of  Judges  apparently  belonged  to  Issachar  (v.  15),  and 
verses  6-9  seem  to  indicate  that  she  lived  in  the  north  near  Kedesh, 
not  in  the  south. 

Ramah  (the  present  er-Ram),  five  miles  north  of  Jerusalem, 
and  about  six  from  Beth-el. 

Beth-el,  see  i.  23. 

6.  Barak  ('  a  flash  of  lightning ')  is  mentioned  only  in  this  story, 
unless  the  Greek  and  Syriac  translations  are  right  in  1  Sam.  xii.  11 


JUDCxES  4.  7-  it.     J  57 

naphtali,  and  said  unto  him,  Hath  not  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  Israel,  commanded,  saying,  Go  and  draw  unto 
mount  Tabor,  and  take  with  thee  ten  thousand  men  of 
the  children  of  Naphtali  and  of  the  children  of  Zebulun  ? 
And  I  will  draw  unto  thee  to  the  river  Kishon  Sisera,  the  * 
captain  of  Jabin's  army,  with  his  chariots  and  his  mul- 
titude;  and  I  will  deliver  him  into  thine  hand.     And  s 
Barak  said  unto  her,  If  thou  wilt  go  with  me,  then  I 
will  go :  but  if  thou  wilt  not  go  with  me,  I  will  not  go. 
And  she  said,  I  will  surely  go  with  thee  :  notwithstanding  9 
the  journey  that  thou  takest  shall  not  be  for  thine  honour; 
for  the  Lord  shall  sell  Sisera  into  the  hand  of  a  woman. 
And  Deborah  arose,  and  went  with  Barak  to  Kedesh. 
And   Barak  called  Zebulun  and   Naphtali  together   to  u 
Kedesh ;    and  there  went  up  ten  thousand  men  at  his 
feet :  and  Deborah  went  up  with  him.     Now  Heber  the  x  ] 
Kenite  had  severed  himself  from  the  Kenites,  even  from 

in  reading  '  Barak'  instead  of  the  Hebrew  '  Bedan.'  The  name 
occurs  in  Carthaginian  as  '  Barkas,'  and  in  the  inscriptions  of 
Palmyra  and  South  Arabia. 

Kedesh-naphtali,  now  Kades,  about  four  miles  from  the 
entrance  of  the  Jordan  into  the  Huleh  ('waters  of  Merom  '). 

mount  Tabor  :  the  conical  hill  with  a  flat  top  at  the  north- 
east end  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  It  is  now  called  Jebel  et-Tor, 
and  its  summit  is  1,843  feet  above  sea-level. 

children  of  Naphtali  and  .  .  .  children  of  Zebulun.  The 
two  tribes  settled  in  the  country  west  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The 
omission  here  (as  in  ch.  i.)  of  Issachar,  in  whose  territory  all  the 
fighting  takes  place,  seems  to  show  that  having  for  its  lot  the  plain 
where  the  Canaanites  were  too  strong  to  be  conquered,  they  had 
become  absorbed  in  other  tribes  before  this  story  was  written.  In 
the  older  poetical  account  (v.  15)  they  are  mentioned. 
*?.  the  river  Kishon:  see  v.  21. 

10.  there  went   up,  evidently  to  Tabor   in    accordance  with 
Deborah's  instructions.     (See  verse  12.) 

11.  A  very  awkward  introduction  here  of  information  necessary 
for  the  events  in  verses  17  ff. 

the  Kenites.  '  Kain  '  in  the  marg.  is  the  name  of  the  ancestor 
put  for  the  tribe,  as  in  Num.  xxiv.  22.     For  Kenites  see  i.  16. 


58  JUDGES  4.  12-16.     J 

the  children  of  Hobab  the  brother  in  law  of  Moses,  and 
had  pitched  his  tent  as  far  as  the  oak  in  Zaanannim, 

12  which  is  by  Kedesh.     And  they  told  Sisera  that  Barak 

13  the  son  of  Abinoam  was  gone  up  to  mount  Tabor.  And 
Sisera  gathered  together  all  his  chariots,  even  nine  hun- 
dred chariots  of  iron,  and  all  the  people  that  were  with 
him,  from   Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles,  unto  the  river 

14  Kishon.  And  Deborah  said  unto  Barak,  Up ;  for  this  is 
the  day  in  which  the  Lord  hath  delivered  Sisera  into 
thine  hand  :  is  not  the  Lord  gone  out  before  thee  ?  So 
Barak  went  down  from  mount  Tabor,  and  ten  thousand 

15  men  after  him.  And  the  Lord  discomfited  Sisera,  and 
all  his  chariots,  and  all  his  host,  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword  before  Barak;  and  Sisera  lighted  down  from  his 

16  chariot,  and  fled  away  on  his  feet.     But  Barak  pursued 

Hobab  the  brother  in  law  of  Moses,  translated  correctly  in 
margin  'father  in  law,'  the  Hebrew  word  meaning  'the  wife's 
father.'  Hobab  is  mentioned  in  only  one  other  passage — Num.  x.  29 
(but  see  on  Judges  i.  16) ;  in  other  places  Moses'  father-in-law  is 
called  Jethro.  What  the  connexion  between  these  two  names  is 
we  cannot  tell. 

tbe  oak  in  Zaanannim:  another  of  the  sacred  trees.  The 
proper  name  is  uncertain,  but  probably  was  (as  in  R.  V.  margin 
of  Joshua  xix.  33)  Bezaanannim. 

iv.  12-16.  The  battle.  Sisera,  hearing  that  Barak  was  at  Mount 
Tabor,  brought  his  army  with  his  nine  hundred  chariots  down 
to  the  Kishon.  Barak  advanced  with  his  ten  thousand  men. 
Yahweh  fought  for  Israel,  the  enemies  were  discomfited,  Sisera 
fled  on  foot.  Barak  pursued  the  remnant  of  the  army  and  chariots 
to  Harosheth  and  annihilated  them.  Such  is  our  scanty  informa- 
tion as  to  this  great  battle. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  in  what  part  of  the  plain  the  armies  met. 
Sisera  would  reach  the  Kishon,  coming  from  Harosheth,  some 
sixteen  miles  from  Tabor.  He  probably  turned  northwards  towards 
the  mount,  and  the  scene  of  battle  was  slowly  but  surely  trans- 
ferred nearer  to  the  river  again,  as  the  Hebrews  pressed  upon 
their  enemy. 

15.  the  LORD  discomfited  Sisera :  probably  an  allusion  to  the 
events  mentioned  in  v.  20-22. 


JUDGES  4.  17-22.     J  59 

after  the  chariots,  and  after  the  host,  unto  Harosheth  of 
the  Gentiles :  and  all  the  host  of  Sisera  fell  by  the  edge 
of  the  sword  ;  there  was  not  a  man  left. 

Howbeit  Sisera  fled  away  on  his  feet  to  the  tent  of  Jael  17 
the  wife  of  Heber   the   Kenite :    for   there  was   peace 
between  Jabin  the  king  of  Hazor  and  the  house  of  Heber 
the  Kenite.     And  Jael  went  out  to  meet  Sisera,  and  said  18 
unto  him,  Turn  in,  my  lord,  turn  in  to  me;   fear  not. 
And   he   turned   in   unto  her   into   the   tent,   and   she 
covered  him  with  a  rug.     And  he  said  unto  her,  Give  19 
me,  I  pray  thee,  a  little  water  to  drink  •  for  I  am  thirsty. 
And  she  opened  a  bottle  of  milk,  and  gave  him  drink, 
and  covered  him.     And  he  said  unto  her,  Stand  in  the  20 
door  of  the  tent,  and  it  shall  be,  when  any  man  doth 
come  and  inquire  of  thee,  and  say,  Is  there  any  man 
here?   that  thou  shalt  say,  No.     Then  Jael  Heber's  wife  21 
took   a   tent-pin,  and   took   an   hammer  in   her  hand, 
and  went  softly  unto  him,  and  smote  the  pin  into  his 
temples,  and  it  pierced  through  into  the  ground  \  for  he 
was  in  a  deep  sleep;  so  he  swooned  and  died.     And,  22 
behold,  as  Barak  pursued  Sisera,  Jael  came  out  to  meet 
him,  and  said  unto  him,  Come,  and  I  will  shew  thee  the 

iv.  17-23.     Sisera1  s  flight  and  death. 

17.  Sisera,  seeing  that  all  was  lost,  fled  himself  northwards 
towards  Kedesh,  and  came  across  the  encampment  of  the  Heberites 
who  at  that  time  were  wandering  in  the  district.  These  had  taken 
no  part  in  the  fighting. 

18.  a  rug1:  perhaps  rather  'tent-curtain.' 

19.  a  "bottle  of  milk:  i.e.  the  goat-skin  in  which  milk  was 
kept. 

21.  Women  generally  drive  in  the  tent-pins  when  camp  is 
pitched. 

In  the  Song  (v.  26f.i  Sisera  is  killed  as  he  stands. 

22.  Verse  16  certainly  gives  the  impression  that  Barak  led  the 
pursuit  of  the  Canaanite  army  to  Harosheth.  If  this  be  so,  it 
could  only  be  two  or  three  days  after  the  battle  that  he  arrived  at 
Jael's  tent.     Our  uncertainty,  however,  as  to  the  identity  of  some 


60  JUDGES  4.  23— 5.  i.     JDJ 

man  whom  thou  seekest.     And  he  came  unto  her ;  and, 
behold,   Sisera  lay  dead,   and  the  tent-pin  was  in   his 

23  temples.    [D]  So  God  subdued  on  that  day  Jabin  the  king 

24  of  Canaan  before  the  children  of  Israel.  And  the  hand 
of  the  children  of  Israel  prevailed  more  and  more  against 
Jabin  the  king  of  Canaan,  until  they  had  destroyed  Jabin 
king  of  Canaan. 

5  [J]  Then  sang  Deborah  and  Barak  the  son  of  Abinoam 
on  that  da)',  saying, 

of  the  places  mentioned  in  the  story  is  so  great  that  we  cannot  be 
sure  of  this. 

24.  The  defeat  of  Sisera  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  victories 
by  the  Hebrews  over  Jabin.  The  later  successes  are  not  detailed, 
for  the  story  of  Barak  the  '  judge  '  has  been  told. 

v.  The  Song  of  deliverance.  The  song  that  follows  is  recognized 
by  almost  all  scholars  as  one  of  the  earliest  pieces  of  Hebrew 
literature  in  the  O.  T.  Such  songs  have  existed  in  early  English 
literature  as  well  as  in  Hebrew.  Doubtless  in  Palestine,  as 
in  England,  they  were  sung  at  feasts  and  tribal  gatherings. 
Collections  of  Hebrew  poetry  seem  to  have  been  made  by  the 
Hebrews.  David  commanded  that  the  people  should  be  taught 
(to  recite)  the  lament  he  composed  on  the  death  of  Saul  and 
Jonathan,  and  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of  Samuel  found  it 
written  in  a  work  called  '  the  Book  of  Jashar !  (2  Sam.  i.  18). 
A  fragment  of  poetry  from  the  same  book  is  quoted  in  Joshua  x. 
12,  13,  and  another  in  1  Kings  viii.  12,  13  (according  to  the  Greek 
version).  Other  specimens  of  this  poetry  are  to  be  found  in 
Num.  xxi,  one  being  quoted  from  another  collection  of  songs 
called  '  the  book  of  the  Wars  of  Yahweh  '  (verses  14,  15).  Such 
songs  were  doubtless  passed  on  orally  long  before  they  were 
written  down.  Unfortunately  the  antiquity  of  the  song  has  made 
it  very  difficult  to  understand.  Many  old  words  pass  out  of  use 
altogether  and  their  meaning  is  forgotten,  others  change  their 
meaning,  the  forms  used  in  inflections  change.  The  consequence 
here  is  that  an  enormous  literature  has  grown  up  around  the 
interpretation  of  the  song,  and  in  spite  of  much  ingenuity  thus 
brought  to  bear  on  its  meaning  we  must  often  confess  we  cannot 
translate  parts. 

As  regards  the  contents,  it  is  clear  that  it  records  the  same 
events  as  those  of  which  a  prose  account  is  given  in  ch.  iv  ;  but 
with  some  striking  differences.  The  difference  between  such 
a  song  as  has  been  described  above  and  a  prose  narrative,  which 


JUDGES  5.  2.     J  61 

For  that  the  leaders  took  the  lead  in  Israel,  2 

is  more  of  the  nature  of  a  chronicle,  is  sufficient  to  account  for 
a  difference  of  emphasis  on  certain  events.  But  there  still  remain 
to  be  explained  the  following  variations,  which  seem  to  indicate 
different  traditions.  (1)  The  entire  omission  in  the  song  of  any 
reference  to  Jabin,  King  of  Hazor,  and  the  presentation  of  Sisera, 
not  as  a  general,  but  as  himself  a  king  (verses  19,  20).  (2)  Here 
Ephraim,  Benjamin,  Manasseh,  Zebulun  and  Issachar  take  part 
in  the  battle,  while  Reuben,  Gad,  Dan,  and  Asher  are  blamed 
because  they  did  not  come  ;  while  in  the  prose  story  Zebulun  and 
Naphtali  only  are  called  (iv.  10).  (3)  In  the  song  Jael  strikes 
Sisera  as  he  drinks,  and  he  falls  dead  ;  in  iv.  21  she  kills  him  as  he 
lies  asleep. 

The  authorship  of  such  early  songs  is  often  unknown,  and  such 
is  the  case  here.  It  has  been  ascribed  to  Deborah  on  account  of 
verse  7,  which  the  English  version  translates  '  I  Deborah  arose,' 
whereas  if  translated  as  ancient  Hebrew  it  should  be  k  thou 
Deborah  didst  arise.' 

So  far  as  form  is  concerned,  it  consists  of  several  descriptive 
scenes  most  graphic  and  vigorous,  and  three  apostrophes.  The 
latter  are  in  verses  2-3,  9-10  (and  11  ?),  and  31.  The  scenes  are 
verses  4-5,  Yahweh's  march  up  to  Palestine  ;  6-8,  the  miserable 
state  to  which  the  Hebrews  had  been  reduced  ;  12-18,  the  con- 
duct of  the  Hebrew  tribes  when  Deborah  and  Barak  sought  to 
rouse  them  to  action  ;  19-22,  the  battle  ;  25-27,  the  death  of  Sisera  ; 
28-30,  the  home  of  Sisera  and  the  hopes  of  his  mother  and  her 
princesses.  To  these  should  be  added  the  curse  of  Meroz 
(verse  23)  and  the  contrasting  blessing  of  Jael  (24). 
v.   2,  3.     Apostrophe. 

2.  The  first  two  Hebrew  words  are  translated  by  the  English 
version  Por  that  the  leaders  took  the  lead,  in  accordance  with 
one  of  the  Greek  versions.  This  can  only  be  supported  by  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  noun  from  the  same  root  in  Arabic  meaning 
'head  of  a  people,'  and  a  verb  meaning  'to  ascend.'  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Hebrew  noun  in  the  other  passages  of  the  O.  T. 
where  it  occurs  (Deut.  xxxii.  42  ;  Num.  vi.  5  ;  Ezek.  xliv.  20)  means 
'long  hair'  or  Mocks,'  and  the  verb  'to  loosen,  free  from 
restraint'  (Lev.  x.  6,  xxi.  10;  Exod.  xxxii.  25,  &c).  The  preposition 
at  the  beginning  is  not  used  to  indicate  that  for  which  one  blesses, 
but  means  'by,  with,'  or  indicates  time.  The  alternatives  there- 
fore are  '  by  the  loosing  of  long  hair  .  .  .  bless  Yahweh,'  or  \  when 
long  hair  is  loosed,'  &c,  and  the  words  allude  probably  to  the 
vows  made  to  Yahweh  (cf.  as  above  Num.  vi.  5)  for  victory.  The 
translation  in  the  A.  V.  '  for  the  avenging  of  Israel '  agrees  with 
the  Syriac  rendering  and  the  Targum,  but  the  early  Hebrew 
words  never  have  this  meaning. 


62  JUDGES  5.  3,  4.     J 

For  that  the  people  offered  themselves  willingly, 

Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Hear,  O  ye  kings ;  give  ear,  O  ye  princes ; 

I,  even  I,  will  sing  unto  the  Lord  ; 

I  will  sing  praise  to  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel. 

Lord,  when  thou  wentest  forth  out  of  Seir, 


In  the  second  part  of  the  verse  there  is  the  same  ambiguity  in 
the  use  of  the  preposition  as  above. 

Por  that  the  people  offered  themselves  willingly  may  also 
be  rendered  'when  the  people  offer  free-will  offerings,'  or  'by 
the  offering  of  the  people,'  &c. 

3.  Not  only  shall  the  Israelites  bless  Yahweh,  but  kings  and 
rulers  (especially  those  who  had  fought  against  them,  verse  19) 
shall  hear  and  note  that  Israel  praises  Yahweh  its  God  for  the 
victory.  At  a  later  time  the  prophet  calls  on  a  larger  audience 
('  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth,'  Isa.  i.  2)  to  witness  the 
ingratitude  of  Israel  to  Yahweh. 

Hear  .  .  .  give  ear :  a  frequent  parallelism  in  poetry 
(Gen.  iv.  23  ;  Num.  xxiii.  18,  &c). 

Kings  and  princes  (as  'rulers')  also  occur  together  in 
Ps.  ii.  2  ;  Prov.  viii.  15,  xxxi.  4  ;  Hab.  i.  10. 

I,  even  I.  The  repetition  of  the  pronoun  is  very  emphatic. 
'  I  for  my  part.'  Some  interpreters  refer  it  not  to  the  author,  but 
as  in  some  psalms  to  the  people,  Israel. 

The  word  used  for  will  sing  here  is  not  the  same  as  in  verse  1, 
but  refers  rather  to  the  melody  than  the  words. 

the  Lord,  the  G-od  of  Israel.  The  one  fact  that  in  the  time 
of  Samuel  and  David  made  a  united  kingdom  possible  was  that  all 
the  Hebrew  tribes  acknowledged  Yahweh  as  their  God.  In  the 
time  of  the  Judges,  however,  this  was  not  sufficient  to  do  more 
than  induce  some  of  the  tribes  to  act  together  for  the  time  in 
repelling  a  common  enemy. 

v.  4,  5.  The  approach  of  Yahiveh.  We  are  so  accustomed  to 
think  of  Yahweh  as  the  God  of  Israel  that  we  may  overlook  the 
fact  that  according  to  Exod.  vi.  3  (cf.  iii.  13  ff.  )  the  Hebrews  had 
never  known  their  God  by  this  name  until  just  before  they  left 
Egypt.  The  revelation  of  Yahweh  to  Moses  came  when  he  was 
among  the  Midianites,  sojourning  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  ;  the 
law  was  given  by  Yahweh  later,  from  His  seat  on  Mount  Sinai  (or 
Horeb)  ;  and  as  a  deity  He  was  associated  with  a  particular  land  ; 
it  was  still  in  Sinai  that  He  remained  until  His  people  had  secured 
their  new  land  in  Palestine  and  Yahvveh's  seat  was  transferred  to 


JUDGES  5.  5.     J  63 

When  thou  marchedst  out  of  the  field  of  Edom, 
The  earth  trembled,  the  heavens  also  dropped, 
Yea,  the  clouds  dropped  water. 
The  mountains  flowed  down  at  the  presence  of  the  5 

Lord, 
Even  yon  Sinai  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  the 

God  of  Israel. 

the  hill  of  Zion.  But  this  was  not  yet.  The  Angel  of  Yahweh 
was  with  the  Hebrews,  and  the  ark  was  the  visible  sign  of  His 
presence.  Long  after  this  time  Elijah  retreated  from  the  evil  of  his 
country  to  '  Horeb,  the  mount  of  God,'  and  there  met  Yahweh 
(i  Kings  xix.  8  ft'.  ). 

The  poet  in  these  verses  tells  how  Yahweh  marched  out  from 
His  distant  abode  to  come  and  stand  by  His  people  in  battle,  and 
in  few  but  vigorous  sentences  describes  the  awe  of  nature  as  He 
passes. 

4.  when  thou  wentest  forth  to  battle,  as  in  ii.  15,  iv.  14.  This 
verb  is  coupled  with  the  next  (thou  marchedst  out),  also  in 
Hab.  iii.  12,  13  ;  Ps.  lxviii.  7. 

Seir,  sometimes  called  the  'hill-country  of  Seir,'  is  the 
mountainous  district  on  the  east  side  of  a  line  drawn  from  the 
south  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  'Aqabah. 
According  to  Gen.  xxxvi.  8  it  was  the  abode  of  Esau  (cf. 
Deut.  ii.  5),  who  succeeded  the  Horites  (Gen.  xiv.  6 ;  Deut. 
ii.  12). 

the  field  (or  '  territory  ')  of  Edom  is  the  same  as  Seir ;  cf. 
Gen.  xxxvi.  8,  9. 

the  heavens  also  dropped,  or  dripped.  A  Greek  translation 
suggests  an  original  verb  meaning  'was  shaken,'  which  would  be 
very  natural,  for  in  those  dajrs  the  heaven  was  regarded  as  a  solid 
covering  for  the  earth,  and  the  figure  would  be  similar  to  that  in 
2  Sam.  xxii.  8. 

5.  the  mountains  flowed  down,  or  'quaked'  (marg.).  Both 
meanings  come  from  the  same  consonants  in  the  Hebrew  verb, 
but  require  different  vowels.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  now  which 
was  the  original.  It  seems,  however,  natural  that  the  solid 
bodies,  earth,  heaven,  and  mountains,  should  shake  in  awe,  while 
the  clouds  should  fall  as  water. 

Even  yon  Sinai  :  literally  'this  Sinai,'  or  '  this  is  Sinai.'  In 
the  former  sense  it  is  unusual,  though  possible  as  equivalent  to 
'yon  Sinai.'  If  the  second  and  more  usual  sense  is  taken  the 
words  are  probably  a  note  introduced  into  the  text.  The  words 
are  found  in  Ps.  lxviii.  8.  but  the  text  there  is  doubtful. 


64  JUDGES  5.  6,7.     J 

6  In  the  days  of  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath, 

In  the  days  of  Jael,  the  high  ways  were  unoccupied, 
And  the  travellers  walked  through  byways. 

7  The  rulers  ceased  in  Israel,  they  ceased, 

v.  6-8.  The  wretchedness  of  the  Hebrews.  In  the  days  before 
Deborah  stirred  them  to  battle  existence  had  been  made  almost 
intolerable  for  the  Hebrews.  We  have  learned  from  ch.  i  that 
between  and  among  the  tribal  settlements  were  Canaanite  cities 
unconquered,  hence  communication  with  one  another  was 
difficult  at  any  time,  and  had  now  become  almost  impossible, 
because  the  kings  (verse  19)  of  these  cities  conspired  to  occupy 
the  roads  against  them.  Caravans  ceased,  foot-passengers  dared 
not  travel  on  the  beaten  tracks,  but  were  compelled  to  make  their 
way  along  dangerous  and  devious  paths.  Unwalled  settlements 
were  exposed  to  atttacks  which  they  could  not  repel,  and  so  were 
abandoned  or  destroyed,  provisions  for  the  peasants  failed,  and 
though  there  were  many  stout  men  among  them,  they  dared  not 
show  a  weapon  in  their  own  defence. 

6.  Why  are  Shamg-ar  the  son  of  Anath  and  Jael  mentioned 
here  ?  Of  the  former  we  know  nothing  at  all.  He  was  made  one  of 
the  judges  centuries  later  by  an  author  who  probably  took  him  to 
be  referred  to  as  such  in  this  passage.  The  deeds  ascribed  to  him 
in  iii.  31  seem  to  belong  rightly  to  another  man,  of  a  somewhat 
similar  name  (see  note  to  iii.  31).  Of  Jael  we  know  that  she  was 
not  a  Hebrew  but  a  Kenite,  belonging  to  a  family  that  had  severed 
itself  from  the  clan  in  the  south  (iv.  11),  and  that  her  husband's 
house  was  at  peace  with  the  deadly  enemy  of  the  Hebrews  (iv.  17), 
although  she  proved  treacherous  to  her  friendship,  and  by  killing 
her  guest  earned  the  enthusiastic  gratitude  of  Israel.  If  Shamgar 
and  Jael  were  the  causes  of  Israel's  wretchedness  now  described 
the  reference  would  be  intelligible,  but  there  is  no  certainty 
possible  for  want  of  information. 

the  hig-h  ways  were  unoccupied,  or  as  in  the  margin,  '  the 
caravans  ceased.'  The  difference  between  the  two  translations 
is  due  to  the  different  vocalization  of  the  consonants  of  the  first 
word  by  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  versions.  The  marginal 
rendering  has  the  advantage  that  it  gives  the  natural  sense  of  the 
verb,  which  has  to  be  strained  to  bear  the  meaning  in  the  text. 
Caravans  were  compelled  to  keep  to  the  main  tracks  on  their  way 
from  one  place  to  another,  and  as  these  were  beset  by  enemies 
they  ceased  to  go  at  all.  Wayfarers  were  compelled  to  abandon 
the  usual  roads  and  make  their  way  by  crooked  or  roundabout 
paths. 

7.  The  rulers  ceased  in  Israel,  or  as  in  margin,  '  The  villages 


JUDGES  5.  S,  9.     J  65 

Until  that  I  Deborah  arose, 

That  I  arose  a  mother  in  Israel. 

They  chose  new  gods ;  8 

Then  was  war  in  the  gates : 

Was  there  a  shield  or  spear  seen 

Among  forty  thousand  in  Israel  ? 

My  heart  is  toward  the  governors  of  Israel,  9 

That  offered  themselves  willingly  among  the  people  : 

were  unoccupied.'  The  noun  in  this  sentence  is  found  only  here 
and  in  verse  11,  but  its  root  is  the  same  as  that  in  two  known 
words  referring  to  hamlets.  As  it  stands  it  may  mean  •  peasantry.' 
A  change  of  the  last  letter  would  give  the  meaning  '  villages '  or 
'  hamlets  '  adopted  in  the  R.  V.  margin.  The  meaning  !  rulers,' 
adopted  in  the  text,  is  taken  from  the  Greek  version.  (See  also 
verse  n.) 

Until  that  I  .  .  .  arose.  There  is  ambiguity  here,  because 
if  the  form  of  the  Hebrew  verb  is  archaic,  it  means,  '  thou  (fern.) 
didst  arise '  ;  if  later,  it  means  '  I  arose.'  The  former  is  more 
probable  (cf.  verse  12).  The  Greek  version  has  '  until  Deborah, 
arose.' 

8.  The  first  line  is  literally  '  It  chooses  new  gods,'  and  is 
difficult  to  explain  grammatically.  The  Latin  version  has  'God 
chose  new  wars.'  Very  many  suggestions  have  been  given  from 
the  earliest  times  as  to  the  probable  text  and  meaning,  but  none 
are  satisfactory. 

Then  was  war  in  the  gates.  This  is  an  attempt  to  translate 
the  Hebrew  words,  which  simply  mean  <  Then  bread  gates.'  The 
text  is  clearly  corrupt,  and  one  can  only  conjecture  what  it  was 
originally.  The  most  tempting  solution  offered  is  that  the  last 
letter  of  the  first  Hebrew  word  was  accidentally  dropped  (owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  next  word  began  with  the  same  letter),  and  that 
the  last  word  is  wrongly  vowelled.  This  would  give  the  meaning 
1  The  barley-bread  failed,'  i.  e.  the  common  food  of  the  country 
people  was  exhausted  (cf.  1  Sam.  ix.  7). 

The  third  line  is  negative :   '  Shield  was  not  seen,  nor  spear.' 

v.  9-1 1.  A  second  Apostrophe.  After  describing  the  misery 
of  the  people,  and  before  reciting  the  movement  that  led  to  relief, 
the  poet  breaks  out  again  in  gratitude  to  Yahweh.  As  in  verses 
h  and  3,  first  the  Hebrews  are  called  upon  to  bless  Yahweh,  and 
then  the  other  peoples  to  take  notice.  Verse  11  is  not  intelligible 
enough  to  say  with  certainty  to  whom  it  is  addressed. 

9.  In  the  second  line  the  Hebrew  participle  may  mean    '  Who 


66  JUDGES  5.  10-12.     J 

Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Tell  of  it,  ye  that  ride  on  white  asses, 

Ye  that  sit  on  rich  carpets, 

And  ye  that  walk  by  the  way. 

Far  from  the   noise  of  archers,   in  the   places   of 

drawing  water, 
There  shall  they  rehearse  the  righteous  acts  of  the 

Lord, 
Eve?i  the  righteous  acts  of  his  rule  in  Israel. 
Then  the  people  of  the  Lord  went  down  to  the  gates. 
Awake,  awake,  Deborah ; 

offer  themselves,'  &c,  referring  to  the  'governors  of  Israel,'  or 
1  You,  who  offer  yourselves  .  .  .  bless  Yahweh.'  The  verb  is  the 
same  as  in  verse  2b;  and  may  also  mean  'who  bring  free-will 
offerings.' 

10.  The  literal  rendering  of  this  verse  is  : — 

'You,  who  ride  upon  tawny  she-asses, 
You,  who  sit  upon  cloths  (?), 
And  who  walk  on  (the)  road,  meditate.' 

The  first  line  refers  to  men  of  wealth  (cf.  x.  4,  xii.  14). 

In  the  second  line  the  meaning  '  cloths  '  is  the  most  probable, 
and  the  sentence  might  be  paraphrased  in  English,  '  You  who  sit 
on  cushions '  ;  it  is  thus  a  parallel  to  the  first  line.  The  transla- 
tion of  the  A.  V.,  'Ye,  that  sit  in  judgment,'  follows  the  Greek 
and  Latin  versions  in  giving  different  vowels  to  the  last  Hebrew 
word,  and  is  improbable. 

meditate.  This  is  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word.  Some 
translate  'sing,'  which  is  possible,  but  supposes  that  those  addressed 
are  Israelites.  But  the  Israelites  are  represented  in  the  song  as 
being  utterly  destitute  at  this  time,  and  the  address  is  more 
probably  to  their  neighbours  or  enemies  (as  in  verse  3). 

11.  This  verse  is  unintelligible.  The  English  version  trans- 
lates the  Hebrew  words,  though  far  from  is  only  '  from »  in  the 
original,  and  the  word  translated  his  rule  is  the  same  as  in  verse 
7,  where  it  meant  'villages.'  The  latter  meaning  is  given  in  the 
margin  here,  but  does  not  give  any  sense.  The  last  line  seems  to 
refer  to  the  assembling  of  the  Hebrews  to  go  out  to  battle,  and 
thus  to  introduce  verse  13. 

v.  j 2- 1 8.  Another  scene  is  now  unfolded.  Yahweh  has  been 
described  as  marching  from    Sinai  to  the  help   of  His   people. 


JUDGES  5.  13,  14.     J  67 

Awake,  awake,  utter  a  song : 

Arise,  Barak,  and  lead  thy  captivity  captive,  thou  son 

of  Abinoam. 
Then  came  down  a  remnant  of  the  nobles  and  the  13 

people ; 
The  Lord  came  down  for  me  against  the  mighty. 
Out  of  Ephraim  came  down  they  whose  root  is  in  14 

Amalek  j 
After  thee,  Benjamin,  among  thy  peoples ; 

Their  wretched  and  helpless  condition  has  been  told.  Now  we 
are  to  learn  of  the  stirring  of  a  new  spirit  of  courage  and 
resolution,  which  begins  with  Deborah  and  Barak,  and  runs  like 
fire  through  the  Hebrew  tribes — yet  not  through  all.  Stinging 
words  will  tell  that  Reuben  loved  his  sheep  better  than  his 
brother  Hebrews,  and  Gilead,  Dan,  and  Asher  are  branded  as 
defaulters.  But  Ephraim,  Benjamin,  and  Manasseh  did  well ; 
Zebulun  and  Naphtali  were  even  more  distinguished  in  their 
service. 

Such  is  the  sense  of  the  following  passage,  but  a  glance  at  the 
alternative  readings  given  in  the  margin  of  the  R.  V.  shows  how 
badly  the  Hebrew  original  has  suffered  in  its  transmission  during 
the  centuries.  Indeed,  in  verses  13  to  15  it  is  impossible  to  do  more 
than  record  some  of  the  suggestions  given  by  the  early  versions. 

12.  The  first  movement  of  the  new  courage  is  in  Deborah  and 
Barak.  The  poet  begins  his  description  in  the  form  of  exhortation. 
It  is  a  poetic  violence  to  language,  which  more  than  justifies  itself 
by  the  vivid  effect  it  produces. 

lead  thy  captivity  captive :  i.  e.  thy  captives,  or,  assuming 
another  pronunciation  of  the  Hebrew  word,  '  thy  captors.' 

13.  The  text  as  it  is  vowelled  and  punctuated  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible  is  untranslateable.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  get 
sense  with  the  least  possible  change.  One  of  the  simplest  is  to 
read  : — 

'  Then  came  down  a  remnant  of  the  nobles  ; 
The  people  of  Yahweh  came  down  for  Him  as  heroes.' 
The  punctuation  is  here  in  accord  with  the  Greek  version. 

14.  The  first  line  is  '  From  Ephraim,  their  root  (is)  in  Amalek.' 
A  verb  is  wanting  here.  The  Greek  version  translated  'Ephraim 
rooted  them  out  in  Amalek,'  or  '  in  the  valley.' 

In  the  second  line  a  Greek  MS.  suggests  <  Thy  brother  Benjamin 
among  thy  peoples.'  In  these  two  lines  nothing  is  certain  except 
the  names  of  the  two  tribes. 

F   2 


68  JUDGES  5.  15,  ifi.     J 

Out  of  Machir  came  down  governors, 

And  out  of  Zebulun  they  that  handle  the  marshal's 

staff. 
And  the  princes  of  Issachar  were  with  Deborah ; 
As  was  Issachar,  so  was  Barak; 
Into  the  valley  they  rushed  forth  at  his  feet. 
By  the  watercourses  of  Reuben 
There  were  great  resolves  of  heart. 
Why  satest  thou  among  the  sheepfolds, 

Machir  is  a  clan  of  Manasseh  (Joshua  xvii.  i  f.  (J)  ;  Num. 
xxvi.  29  (P)),  and  here  is  evidently  that  part  which  was  settled 
west  of  the  Jordan.  As,  however,  Machir  is  mentioned  in  many 
passages  as  occupying  Gilead  and  Bashan,  and  in  genealogical 
lists  is  made  the  '  father  of  Gilead '  (Joshua  xvii.  1),  it  is  probable 
that  it  crossed  the  Jordan  and  conquered  this  territory  at  a  later 
time. 

governors :  or  '  lawgivers '  (margin).  The  Hebrew  word  so 
translated  occurs  also  in  Num.  xxi.  18,  where  it  is  rendered 
'sceptre'  in  the  text,  'the  lawgiver'  in  the  margin.  It  seems  to 
mean  literally  '  one  who  carries  a  staff'  (as  a  sign  of  his  authorit}'). 
they  that  handle  the  marshal's  staff:  or  'the  staff  of  the 
scribe '  (margin).  The  marginal  translation  is  the  literal  and 
correct  one.  The  '  scribe  '  in  the  army,  according  to  2  Kings 
xxv.  19,  was  the  officer  who  mustered  the  men. 

15.     The  Hebrew  text  may  be  translated  literally: — 
'  And  my  princes  in  Issachar  with  Deborah, 
And  Issachar,  thus  Barak 
Into  the  valley  was  cast  at  his  feet. 

In  the  divisions  of  Reuben  great  were  the  resolves  of  heart.' 
In  the  R.  V.  the  first  line  agrees  with  the  Latin  version,  while 
the  Greek  adds  '  and  Barak '  after  Deborah.  Neither  Greek  nor 
Latin  has  any  mention  of  Issachar  in  the  second  line.  The  Latin 
in  the  second  line  has  '  And  they  (the  princes)  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  Barak.'  We  have  no  certainty  as  to  the  original  text. 
Owing  to  this  uncertainty  we  cannot  tell  what  the  subject  of  the 
verb  in  the  third  line  is  (the  pronoun  '  his  '  must  refer  to  '  Barak '), 
but  it  is  generally  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  princes  of  Issachar 
rushed  to  his  help. 

the  watercourses  :  or  channels.  The  word  seems  better  in 
its  more  original  meaning,  <  divisions,  sections '  (see  next  verse). 

18.     the  sheepfolds:    as  in  Gen.  xlix.   14,   Ps.  lxviii.  13,  but 
the  meaning  is  not  quite  certain. 


JUDGES  5.  i7,  i?.     J  69 

To  hear  the  pipings  for  the  flocks  ? 

At  the  watercourses  of  Reuben 

There  were  great  searchings  of  heart. 

Gilead  abode  beyond  Jordan  :  17 

And-Dan,  why  did  he  remain  in  ships? 

Asher  sat  still  at  the  haven  of  the  sea, 

And  abode  by  his  creeks. 

Zebulun   was  a  people  that  jeoparded  their   lives  18 

unto  the  death, 
And  Naphtali,  upon  the  high  places  of  the  field. 


the  piping's  for  the  flocks  refers  to  the  sounds  made  by  the 
shepherds  to  call  the  flocks.  (See  Isa.  v.  26,  vii.  18,  where  the 
verb  is  translated  '  hiss.') 

The  last  two  lines  of  the  verse  are  as  in  verse  15,  except  that 
we  have  here  '  To  the  divisions,'  &c,  equivalent  to  '  The  divisions 
of  Reuben  had  '  ;  and  we  have  'searchings'  for  'resolves.'  As 
the  two  Hebrew  words  differ  in  one  letter  only  it  is  possible 
that  we  should  read  '  searchings'  in  verse  15  also. 

17.  Gilead  must  be  used  here  for  Gad.  For  the  general  use  of 
the  name  see  x.  4. 

And  Dan,  why  did  he  remain  in  ships  ?  The  verb  indicates 
that  the  Danites  were  living  among  another  people  (cf.  xvii. 
7,  8,  9)  ;  the  word  '  ships '  indicates  these  as  a  seafaring  people. 
One  is  led  therefore  to  suppose  that  the  migration  of  ch.  xviii  had 
already  taken  place,  and  that  the  Danites  of  Laish  had  entered  into 
relation  with  the  Phoenicians,  who  were  the  great  seafarers  of 
the  time. 

'Asher  sat  near  (or,  'in  the  direction  of)  the  seashore, 
And  at  his  landing-place  was  living  at  rest.' 

Asher  was  not  able  to  take  the  towns  on  the  shore  (i.  31),  but 
was  not  far  from  it. 

The  same  words  as  here,  'near  the  seashore,'  are  used  in 
Gen.  xlix.  13  of  Zebulun,  whose  territory  was  further  inland. 

The  word  translated  creeks  is  found  here  only.  The  English 
translation  is  suggested  by  the  Greek  version  ;  the  Latin  has 
'harbours,'  but  the  kindred  word  in  Arabic  means  places  where 
ships  are  drawn  up  for  unloading. 

18.  'Zebulun  was  a  people  that  despised  its  life  to  the  death,' 
i.  e.  was  reckless  of  life  in  battle  ;  '  and  Naphtali  (showed  like 
courage)  on  the  high  (and  exposed)  places  of  open  country.' 


70  JUDGES  5.  19-21.     J 

The  kings  came  and  fought ; 

Then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan, 

In  Taanach  by  the  waters  of  Megiddo  : 

They  took  no  gain  of  money. 

They  fought  from  heaven, 

The  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera. 

The  river  Kishon  swept  them  away, 

That  ancient  river,  the  river  Kishon. 


v.  19-22.  The  Battle.  The  kings  of  Canaan  came  to  Taanach, 
and  there  the  battle  was  fought.  It  was  decided  not  alone  by  the 
courage  of  the  Hebrews,  but  by  the  fact  that  the  stars  used  their 
influence  in  sending  down  the  rain,  which  flooded  the  Kishon, 
making  the  chariots  useless  and  thus  securing  victory  for  the 
Hebrews. 

19.  the  king's  of  Canaan :  for  there  were  many  kings  in  Canaan, 
each  ruling  over  a  city  and  its  district.  Sisera  was  the  one  who 
had  been  appointed  leader  in  the  battle. 

Taanach  and  Megiddo.     See  i.  27. 

They  took  no  gain  of  money.  Battles  were  usually  fought 
for  booty  (cf.  verse  30).     This  time  their  fighting  was  fruitless. 

20.  '  From  heaven  fought  the  stars, 

From  their  courses  they  fought  with  Sisera.' 
The  English  version  follows  the  Hebrew  in  putting  a  stop  after 
4  fought,' instead  of  after  '  stars.'     The  heavenly  bodies  that  rule 
the  seasons  and  weather  helped  the  Hebrews  against  Sisera  by 
flooding  the  Kishon. 

21.  The  river  Kishon  is  the  second  river  in  Palestine,  and 
from  the  furthest  of  its  sources  to  the  sea  is  thirty-five  miles  long. 
With  its  tributary  streams,  which  are  small  but  numerous,  it  drains 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon  and  the  sides  near  it  of  the  hills  surround- 
ing. As  a  rule  it  is  not  deep  nor  wide,  and  is  impassable  in  only 
one  or  two  places.  In  the  summer  parts  of  it  are  quite  dry. 
The  mouth  is  usually  blocked  by  a  sand-bar,  which  is  only  broken 
through  when  the  stream  receives  the  violent  rain  which  falls  at 
certain  seasons.  In  the  winter,  and  even  more  in  the  spring,  the 
sudden  rains  convert  an  insignificant  stream  into  a  torrent  and 
the  surrounding  land  into  a  marsh.  This  was  the  river  Kishon 
that  '  swept  them  away.' 

That  ancient  river:  lit.  '  river  of  antiquity,'  or,  accord- 
ing to  the  Greek  version,  'river  of  ancient  (things  or  people).' 
But  the  Hebrew  word  is  found  here  only,  and  is  therefore  at  the 
mercy  of  commentators,  who  have  given  it  a  dozen  different  mean- 


JUDGES  5.  22-25.     J  71 

O  my  soul,  march  on  with  strength. 

Then  did  the  horsehoofs  stamp 

By  reason  of  the  pransings,  the  pransings  of  their 

strong  ones. 
Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
Curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof; 
Because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
To  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 
Blessed  above  women  shall  Jael  be, 
The  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite, 
Blessed  shall  she  be  above  women  in  the  tent. 
He  asked  water,  and  she  gave  him  milk  ; 

ings  and  proposed  as  many  restorations  of  the  text.  The  last 
line  is  unintelligible.  '  Thou  treadest,  O  my  soul,  strength '  is 
the  most  literal  translation  of  the  Hebrew  text,  which  is  evidently 
out  of  place  here. 

22.  '  Then  smote  horsehoofs  (the  ground) 

From  the  galloping,  the  galloping  of  his  mighty  (steeds).' 
Such  is  a  literal  translation  of  this  verse.  The  omission  of  the 
object  (given  above  in  brackets)  in  the  first  line,  and  the 
doubtfulness  of  the  meaning  of  the  preposition  '  from '  in  the 
second,  seem  to  point  again  to  an  imperfect  text.  The  word 
translated  'strong'  is  used  of  horses  in  Jer.  viii.  16,  xlvii.  3,  1.  11. 
The  pronoun  '  his  '  has  no  word  near  it  to  refer  to.  It  would  be 
in  place,  however,  if  verse  22  came  originally  after  verse  20.  In 
that  case  the  verse  would  naturally  describe  the  charge  in  battle  ; 
in  its  present  position  it  more  probably  refers  to  the  confusion  of 
flight. 

v.  23.      The  curse  on  Meroz. 

23.  Meroz  is  quite  unknown.  As  this  curse  is  evidently  a 
strong  contrast  to  the  blessing  of  Jael  that  follows,  it  is  generally 
supposed  that  Meroz  was  a  town  or  village  which  lay  on  the 
route  of  Sisera's  flight,  and  that  its  inhabitants  allowed  him  to 
pass  by  when  they  might  have  seized  him. 

against  the  mighty.     Translate  either,  as  in  the  margin, 
'among  the  mighty,'  or  'as  mighty  ones.' 

24.  The  blessing  of  Jael.  '  May  Jael,  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite 
(cf.  iv.  11),  be  the  most  blest  of  women,  most  blest  of  women 
who  live  in  tents'  (cf.  Gen.  iv.  20  ;  Jer.  xxxv.  7). 

v.  25-27.  The  death  of  Sisera.  Sisera  is  not  mentioned  by  name 
until  the  middle  of  this  scene,  but  every  hearer  of  the  song  knows 


72  JUDGES  5.  26.     J 

She  brought  him  butter  in  a  lordly  dish. 
She  put  her  hand  to  the  nail, 
And  her  right  hand  to  the  workmen's  hammer ; 
And  with  the  hammer  she  smote  Sisera,  she  smote 
through  his  head, 

who  is  meant.  Nor  is  his  flight  mentioned.  He  appears  suddenly 
standing  at  the  entrance  of  the  tent,  simply  asking  as  a  guest 
water  to  drink.  Soured  milk  is  handed  to  him  in  a  large  bowl, 
and  while  he  hides  his  face  in  it  as  he  drinks,  Jael,  his  hostess, 
strikes  with  a  mallet  a  crushing  blow  on  his  temples.  At  her  feet 
he  totters  and  falls,  and  lies  lifeless. 

This  representation  of  Sisera's  death  differs  from  that  in  the 
prose  story  (iv.  18-21).  There  Sisera  lay  down  to  rest  under  a 
covering,  and  as  he  slept  Jael  stole  quietly  to  his  side  and  smote 
the  peg  into  his  temples.  The  two  traditions  are  here  incon- 
sistent. It  is  noticeable  too  that  in  the  prose  record  the  treachery 
of  Jael  is  specially  clear  (iv.  17,  18 ),  while  it  is  naturally  not 
mentioned  in  the  song. 

25.  The  narrative  is  given  in  short  sharp  sentences,  as  can  be 
seen  from  a  literal  translation,  maintaining  the  order  of  the 
Hebrew  words  :  — 

1  Water  he  asked,  milk  she  gave  ; 

In  a  bowl  of  nobles  she  reached  sour  milk. 

Her  hand  to  the  peg  she  was  stretching, 

And  her  right  hand  to  the  workmen's  hammer  (?) ; 

And  she  hammered  Sisera,  she  crushed  his  head, 

And  she  shattered  and  broke  through  his  temple. 

Before  her  feet  he  sank,  he  fell,  he  lay  s 

Before  her  feet  he  sank,  he  fell  : 

Where  he  sank,  there  he  lay  killed.' 
butter  in  a  lordly  dish.  The  word  translated  i  butter '  means 
milk  which  has  been  shaken  up  in  the  skin  with  enough  ferment- 
ing remains  of  stale  milk  to  make  it  sour.  It  is  still  the  most 
refreshing  drink  among  the  Bedouin.  The  dish  or  bowl  (as  in  vi. 
38)  was  fit  for  nobles,  that  is,  large. 

28.  the  nail :  or  in  margin  '  tent-pin,'  is  a  peg  usually  for  fixing 
the  tent-ropes,  but  also  for  hanging,  for  digging,  or  as  a  pin  in 
weaving  (cf.  xvi.  14).  Here  it  may  mean  the  handle  of  the  hammer, 
or  be  simply  another  name  for  the  hammer  itself  =  'mallet.' 
The  mention  of  a  peg  and  a  hammer  here  does  not  imply  neces- 
sarily that  two  instruments  were  used,  but  is  due  to  the  parallelism 
in  Hebrew  poetry. 

the  workmen's  hammer  is  perhaps  the  best  translation,  but 
the  meaning  is  doubtful. 


JUDGES  5.  n-3o.     J  73 

Yea,  she  pierced  and  struck  through  his  temples. 

At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell,  he  lay :  27 

At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell : 

Where  he  bowed,  there  he  fell  down  dead. 

Through  the  window  she  looked  forth,  and  cried,       28 

The  mother  of  Sisera  cried  through  the  lattice, 

Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming  ? 

Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariots  ? 

Her  wise  ladies  answered  her,  29 

Yea,  she  returned  answer  to  herself, 

Have  they  not  found,  have  they  not  divided  the  3° 

spoil  ? 
A  damsel,  two  damsels  to  every  man ; 

27.  The  second  line  is  repeated  probably  by  a  mistake  in 
copying. 

v.  28-30.  The  last  scene  is  described  in  words  of  cruel  irony. 
The  hearer's  thought  is  suddenly  carried  from  Jael's  tent  to 
Sisera's  home,  where  his  mother  begins  to  grow  anxious  for  his 
return,  but,  at  the  suggestion  of  her  attendants,  she  comforts  her- 
self with  the  thought  of  the  booty  he  will  bring  when  he  comes. 

28.  and  cried.  This  word  occurs  only  here,  and  seems  to 
mean  '  to  cry  shrilly.'  In  late  Hebrew  it  means  'to  lament,'  and 
in  Aramaic  '  to  exult.' 

the  wheels:    correctly  in   margin  'the  steps,'  that  is,  the 
sound  of  the  horses'  feet  as  the  chariots  return. 

29.  l-  The  wisest  of  her  princesses  answers  her, 

Moreover,  she  herself  returns  herself  her  words.' 
The  first  line  may  be  translated  as  above  by  a  slight  change  of 
pronunciation  of  the  first  Hebrew  word,  or  'the  wise  of  her 
princesses  answer'  (without  object)  by  a  similar  change  in  the 
last  word.  Our  English  revised  rendering  would  make  the 
Hebrew  sentence  ungrammatical. 

The  meaning  of  the  second  line  has  been  explained  by  scholars 
in  two  ways.  (1)  Sisera's  mother,  however,  still  repeated  her 
words  of  anxiety  to  herself,  in  spite  of  the  comforting  suggestion 
of  her  princess ;  or  (2)  she  answered  her  own  anxious,  question 
in  the  same  way  as  the  princess,  thinking  herself  that  her  son 
was  delayed  by  the  immense  booty  he  had  secured.  The  latter 
in  the  more  probable  view. 

30.  '  Do  they  not  find,  divide  spoil  ? 

Slave-maidens,  two  for  each  brave  man  ? 


74  JUDGES  5.  31—6.  2.     JD 

To  Sisera  a  spoil  of  divers  colours, 
A  spoil  of  divers  colours  of  embroidery, 
Of  divers  colours  of  embroidery  on  both  sides,  on 
the  necks  of  the  spoil  ? 
31  So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  O  Lord  : 

But  let  them  that  love  him  be  as  the  sun  when  he 

goeth  forth  in  his  might. 

[D]  And  the  land  had  rest  forty  years. 

0      And  the  children  of  Israel  did  that  which  was  evil  in 

the  sight  of  the  Lord  :  and  the  Lord  delivered  them  into 

2  the   hand  of  Midian   seven  years.     And   the   hand  of 

Spoil  of  dyed  stuffs  for  Sisera, 
Spoil  of  dyed  stuffs,  coloured  embroidery, 
Dyed  stuff,  two  pieces  of  coloured  embroidery  for  the 
necks  of  booty  (!).' 

In  the  first  line  the  Hebrew  tenses  denote  an  unfinished  action. 
This  is  the  cause  of  the  delay  of  Sisera  and  his  host — they  are 
busy  collecting  and  dividing  the  spoil.  Then  the  imagination  of 
the  princess  leads  her  to  hazard  a  guess  as  to  what  that  spoil  is 
likely  to  be. 

In  the  last  line  there  is  no  question  of  '  embroidery  on  both 
sides,'  as  in  the  English  translation  ;  but  of  'two  pieces  of  em- 
broidery,' as  of  '  two  slave-maidens  '  above.  The  last  two  words  do 
not  make  sense  as  they  stand.  Very  slight  changes  in  one  or 
other  of  these  words  would  give  'for  my  neck,'  or  'for  his  neck 
as  booty,'  or  '  for  the  neck  of  the  queen,'  but  there  is  nothing  to 
show  what  the  original  words  were. 

31.  '  Thus  shall  perish  all  Thy  enemies,  Yahweh  (cf.  Ps.  xcii.  9) : 
And  those  who  love  Him  are  as  the  going  forth  of  the 
sun  in  his  strength  (cf.  Ps.  xix.  4-6).' 

To  the  end  of  the  song  the  editor  adds  the  completing  portion  of 
what  he  began  to  say  in  iv.  23,  24 :  '  And  the  land  had  rest 
forty  years,'  i.  e.  a  generation. 

vi-viii.  32.     Gideon. 

vi.  1-6.  Introduction.  The  usual  formula  appears  here  in 
verses  1  and  6,  but  is  enlarged  by  the  introduction  into  verses  2-5 
of  material  taken  from  the  source. 

1.  Midian  was  a  nomad  people.  In  Exod.  iii  the  Midianites 
are  in  the  south  of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai ;  in  1  Kings  xi.  18  they 
are  in  the  north-east  of  the  desert  ol  Sinai;  here  and  in  other 


JUDGES  6.  3-6.     D  75 

Midian  prevailed  against  Israel :  and  because  of  Midian 
the  children  of  Israel  made  them  the  dens  which  are  in 
the  mountains,   and  the  caves,   and  the  strong   holds. 
And  so  it  was,  when  Israel  had  sown,  that  the  Midianites  3 
came  up,  and  the  Amalekites,  and  the  children  of  the 
east ;  they  came  up  against  them  \  and  they  encamped  4 
against  them,  and  destroyed  the  increase  of  the  earth,  till 
thou  come  unto  Gaza,  and  left  no  sustenance  in  Israel, 
neither  sheep,  nor  ox,  nor  ass.     For  they  came  up  with  5 
their  cattle  and  their  tents,  they  came  in  as  locusts  for 
multitude ;    both  they   and   their  camels  were  without 
number  :  and  they  came  into  the  land  to  destroy  it.    And  6 
Israel  was  brought  very  low  because  of  Midian ;  and  the 
children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord. 

passages  (Gen.  xxxvi.  35,  &c.)  they  are  to  the  east  of  the  Hebrews. 
Hebrew  tradition  regarded  them  as  kinsmen.  According  to 
Gen.  xxv.  2,  Midian  was  a  son  of  Abraham  by  Keturah.  Moses 
married  a  Midianitess,  Exod.  ii.  15-21.  In  viii.  24  of  our  book  they 
are  called  Ishmaelites.  It  seems  probable  from  the  story  in  Exod.  iii 
that  they  worshipped  Yahweh  before  the  Hebrews.  They  are 
not  mentioned  by  name  in  the  inscriptions  of  Egypt  or  Assyria; 
but  Ephah,  one  of  the  sons  of  Midian  (Gen.  xxv.  4 :  cf.  Isa.  lx.  6), 
is  identified  by  Delitzsch  with  Hayapa  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions. 
These  lived  in  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  in  the  north  of  the  Hijaz. 

vi.  2-5.  This  description  would  apply  almost  equally  well  to 
the  raids  of  the  Bedouin  to-day.  There  is  no  attempt  at  permanent 
conquest,  but  only  at  thievish  depredations.  Nomads  prefer  that 
settled  peoples  should  do  the  work  of  sowing,  while  they  reap 
the  harvests.  The  comparison  with  locusts,  which  pass  over  a  land, 
stripping  it  and  leaving  it  bare,  is  apt.  The  temporary  flight  of 
the  inhabitants  to  the  hills  and  caves  was  repeated  up  to  the  time 
of  the  Maccabees,  and  is  still  common  in  Syria,  in  the  Balkans, 
and  elsewhere  at  the  present  time.  The  meaning  of  the  word 
translated  '  dens '  is  uncertain  :  probably  it  is  explained  by  the 
word  '  caves '  which  follows  it. 

3.  the  Amalekites.     See  iii.  13. 

the  children  of   the   east :    the    tribes  who  lived   east  of 
Ammon  and  Moab. 

4.  till  thou  come  unto  Gaza :  i.  e.  as  far  as  Gaza,  which,  being 
a  walled  town  (xvi.  3),  checked  them. 


76  JUDGES  6.  7-11.     J 

7  [J]  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  children  of  Israel 
S  cried  unto  the  Lord  because  of  Midian,  that  the  Lord 
sent  a  prophet  unto  the  children  of  Israel :  and  he  said 
unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  I 
brought  you  up  from  Egypt,  and  brought  you  forth  out  of 
9  the  house  of  bondage ;  and  I  delivered  you  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Egyptians,  and  out  of  the  hand  of  all  that 
oppressed  you,  and  drave  them  out  from  before  you,  and 

10  gave  you  their  land ;  and  I  said  unto  you,  I  am  the  Lord 
your  God ;  ye  shall  not  fear  the  gods  of  the  Amorites,  in 
whose  land  ye  dwell :  but  ye  have  not  hearkened  unto 
my  voice. 

11  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came,  and  sat  under  the 
oak  which  was  in  Ophrah,  that  pertained  unto  Joash  the 

vi.  7-10.  Fragment  of  a  prophetic  rebuke.  The  appearance  of 
the  angel  of  Yahweh  is  preceded  here  by  the  appearance  of  a  man, 
whom  the  writer  calls  'a  prophet.'  There  were  probably,  even 
in  this  early  time,  men  devoted  to  Yahweh-worship,  who  wandered 
from  place  to  place  like  Elijah  and  Elisha  in  later  times,  and  who 
were  regarded  as  holy  men  by  the  people  (see  xiii.  6).  But 
where  did  this  man  appear,  and  to  whom  ?  Many  scholars  believe 
that  the  story  of  the  angel  of  Yahweh  (verses  n-24)  comes  from 
another  tradition,  and  that  the  prophet's  words  were  followed  in 
this  story  by  verses  25IT.  The  record  of  the  prophet's  words 
would  then  be  intelligible.  Gideon  heard  them,  and  the  same 
night  was  stirred  by  Yahweh  to  destroy  the  altar  of  the  local  god. 

The  burden  of  the  prophet's  message  is  the  usual  one  for  the 
time,  and  each  sentence  in  it  is  to  be  found  in  other  books.  The 
Hebrews  knew  Yahweh  as  the  God  who  had  delivered  them  from 
Egyptian  bondage.  (The}'  had  never  worshipped  Him  as  Yahweh 
before.)  It  was  therefore  ingratitude  that  was  their  sin  when  they 
turned  aside  to  worship  other  gods. 

The  words  of  the  message  seem  to  be  incompletely  recorded, 
unless  we  are  to  suppose  that  the  evil  condition  in  which  the  people 
were  was  sufficient  to  supply  to  their  minds  such  a  conclusion 
as — '  therefore  you  are  suffering  these  things.' 

vi.  11-24.  Visit  of  Yahiveh's  angd  to  Gideon,  and  the  erection  of 
an  altar  in  Ophrah. 

11.  angel  of  the  LORD.     Sec  ii.  1. 
oak.     Sec  iv.  1  1. 


JUDGES  6.  12-16.     J  77 

Abiezrite  :  and  his  son  Gideon  was  beating  out  wheat  in 
the  winepress,  to  hide  it  from  the  Midianites.     And  the  12 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him,  and  said  unto  him, 
The  Lord  is  with  thee,  thou  mighty  man  of  valour.     And  13 
Gideon  said  unto  him,  Oh  my  lord,  if  the  Lord  be  with 
us,  why  then  is  all  this  befallen  us  ?  and  where  be  all  his 
wondrous   works  which  our  fathers  told  us  of,   saying, 
Did  not  the  Lord  bring  us  up  from  Egypt  ?  but  now  the 
Lord  hath  cast  us  off,  and  delivered  us  into  the  hand  of 
Midian.     And  the  Lord  looked  upon  him,  and  said,  Go  14 
in  this  thy  might,   and  save  Israel  from  the  hand  of 
Midian  :  have  not  I  sent  thee  ?     And  he  said  unto  him,  15 
Oh  Lord,   wherewith   shall  I  save  Israel?   behold,  my 
family  is  the  poorest  in  Manasseh,  and  I  am  the  least  in 
my  father's  house.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  him.  Surely  16 
I  will  be  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  smite  the  Midianites 

Ophrah.  The  position  of  this  town  is  unknown.  It  seems 
to  have  been  near  Shechem. 

Joash  the  Abiezrite.  Joash  is  mentioned  in  this  story  only. 
Abiezer,  according  to  Joshua  xvii.  2,  was  one  of  the  divisions  of 
the  tribe  of  Manasseh  (so  1  Chron.  vii.  18  :  cf.  Num.  xxvi.  30). 

wheat  in  the  winepress.  The  usual  threshing-floor  was 
a  flat  or  flattened  rocky  surface  in  an  exposed  position.  The  wine- 
press was  a  shallow  vat  cut  in  the  rocky  soil.  The  use  of  the 
press  for  threshing  shows  that  a  small  quantity  only  was  being 
threshed  at  one  time. 

12,  13.  The  greeting  was  probably  in  as  common  use  as  our 
'good-bye,'  and  used  with  as  little  realization  of  its  meaning. 
But  to  Gideon,  who  realizes  both  the  meaning  of  the  words  and 
the  actual  misery  of  his  people,  the  greeting  is  a  sarcasm,  hence 
his  reply. 

14.  the  LORD  looked  upon  him.  The  Greek  translation  reads, 
'  the  angel  of  the  Lord.' 

in  this  thy  might :  in  this  strength  or  ability  of  thine,  i.  e. 
this  physical  strength  manifest  in  his  threshing;  perhaps  also  with 
an  allusion  to  the  strength  of  character  shown  in  his  refusal  to 
accept  the  conventional  greeting  without  question. 

15.  A  family  or  'thousand  '  is  a  division  of  a  tribe,  and  is  itself 
made  up  of  several  '  father's  houses.' 

18.  The  Greek  translation  reads.  'The  Lord  will  be  with  thee.' 


78  JUDGES  G.  i7-22.     J 

17  as  one  man.  And  he  said  unto  him,  If  now  I  have  found 
grace  in  thy  sight,  then  shew  me  a  sign  that  it  is  thou 

18  that  talkest  with  me.  Depart  not  hence,  I  pray  thee, 
until  I  come  unto  thee,  and  bring  forth  my  present,  and 
lay  it  before  thee.     And  he  said,  I  will  tarry  until  thou 

19  come  again.  And  Gideon  went  in,  and  made  ready  a 
kid,  and  unleavened  cakes  of  an  ephah  of  meal :  the 
flesh  he  put  in  a  basket,  and  he  put  the  broth  in  a  pot, 
and  brought  it  out  unto  him  under  the  oak,  and  pre- 

20  sented  it.  And  the  angel  of  God  said  unto  him,  Take 
the  flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes,  and  lay  them  upon 

21  this  rock,  and  pour  out  the  broth.  And  he  did  so.  Then 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  put  forth  the  end  of  the  staff  that 
was  in  his  hand,  and  touched  the  flesh  and  the  unleavened 
cakes  ;  and  there  went  up  fire  out  of  the  rock,  and  con- 
sumed the  flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes  ;  and  the  angel 

22  of  the  Lord  departed  out  of  his  sight.  And  Gideon  saw 
that  he  was  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ;  and  Gideon  said,  Alas, 

Gideon  does  not  know  yet  that  it  is  Yahweh  who  speaks  with  him 
(cf.  verse  22). 

1*7.  The  second  half  of  the  verse  has  evidently  been  introduced 
by  one  who  wants  to  make  the  meal  a  sacrifice  from  the  beginning. 
It  is  clear  that  in  the  original  story  Gideon,  not  knowing  with 
whom  he  speaks,  but  struck  with  the  encouraging  words  and 
manner  of  the  visitor,  invites  him  to  a  meal.  '  If  now  I  have  found 
grace  in  thy  sight,  depart  not  hence,  until,'  &c.  (Cf.  Gen.  xviii. 
3-5-) 

vi.  18-21.     The  meal  becomes  a  sacrifice. 

19.  made  ready  a  kid:  as  Manoah  did  under  similar  circum- 
stances (xiii.  15,  19). 

21.  fire  out  of  the  rook.  Miraculous  fire  consumed  the  sacrifice 
of  Moses,  Lev.  ix.  24  ;  of  Elijah  at  Carmel,  1  Kings  xviii ;  and  of 
Solomon,  2  Chron.  vii.  1. 

and  the  angel  of  the  LORD  departed  out  of  his  sight. 
Thees  words  come  too  soon,  for  the  angel  (now  known  to  be 
Yahweh)  speaks  again  in  verse  23. 

22.  Compare  Exod.  xxxiii.  20 ;  Judges  xiii.  22,  and  other 
passages. 


JUDGES  6.  23-28.     J  79 

O  Lord  God  !  forasmuch  as  I  have  seen  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  face  to  face.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Peace  23 
be  unto  thee ;  fear  not :  thou  shalt  not  die.     Then  Gideon  24 
built  an  altar  there  unto  the  Lord,  and  called  it  Jehovah- 
shalom :  unto  this  day  it  is  yet  in  Ophrah  of  the  Abiezrites. 

And  it  came  to  pass  the  same  night,  that  the  Lord  said  25 
unto  him,  Take  thy  father's  bullock,  even  the  second 
bullock  of  seven  years  old,  and  throw  down  the  altar  of 
Baal  that  thy  father  hath,   and  cut  down  the  Asherah 
that  is  by  it :  and  build  an  altar  unto  the  Lord  thy  God  26 
upon  the  top  of  this  strong  hold,  in  the  orderly  manner, 
and  take  the  second  bullock,  and  offer  a  burnt  offering 
with  the  wood  of  the  Asherah  which    thou    shalt  cut 
down.     Then  Gideon  took  ten  men  of  his  servants,  and  27 
did  as  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto  him  :  and  it  came  to 
pass,  because  he  feared  his  father's  household  and  the 
men  of  the  city,  so  that  he  could  not  do  it  by  day,  that 
he  did  it  by  night.     And  when  the  men  of  the  city  arose  28 

24.  Jehovah- Shalom  :  '  Yahweh  is  peace '  (R.  V.  marg.),  in 
allusion  to  the  words  of  Yahweh  in  verse  23.  So  an  altar  is 
called  c  Yahweh  is  my  banner '  in  Exod.  xvii.  15  ;  a  place  is  called 
'Yahweh  will  see '  by  Abraham,  Gen.  xxii.  14;  Jerusalem  is  called 
i  Yahweh  is  our  righteousness  '  by  Jeremiah  (Jer.  xxxiii.  16). 

vi.  25-32.     The  destruction  of  the  Baal's  altar  {in  Ophrah). 

25.  the  same  night  refers  back  as  it  stands  to  the  incident  in 
verses  n-24,  but  may  originally  have  come  after  verse  10. 

The  second  clause  of  this  verse  is  unintelligible  in  the  Hebrew, 
and  the  English  translation  is  only  an  attempt  to  make  sense. 
The  Greek  presupposes  another  original,  but  is  also  unintelligible. 
The  mention  of  a  second  bullock  seems  quite  out  of  place. 

Baal  that  thy  father  hath :  i.e.  the  local  deity.  There  were 
various  Baals  in  different  parts  of  the  country  (see  ii.  11),  and  the 
name  was  even  given  to  Yahweh  in  early  times. 

the  Asherah  here,  as  in  many  other  passages,  is  the  pole  or 
post  set  up  beside  an  altar.  Its  exact  form  and  significance  are 
not  known.     It  is  mentioned  in  Phoenician  inscriptions. 

26.  strong  hold :  a  naturally  strong  position. 

in  the  orderly  manner.     The  meaning  is  doubtful. 


80  JUDGES  G.  29-32.     J 

early  in  the  morning,  behold,  the  altar  of  Baal  was 
broken  down,  and  the  Asherah  was  cut  down  that  was 
by  it,  and  the  second  bullock  was  offered  upon  the  altar 

29  that  was  built.  And  they  said  one  to  another,  Who 
hath  done  this  thing?  And  when  they  inquired  and 
asked,  they  said,  Gideon  the  son  of  Joash  hath  done  this 

30  thing.  Then  the  men  of  the  city  said  unto  Joash,  Bring 
out  thy  son,  that  he  may  die :  because  he  hath  broken 
down  the  altar  of  Baal,  and  because  he  hath  cut  down 

31  the  Asherah  that  was  by  it.  And  Joash  said  unto  all 
that  stood  against  him,  Will  ye  plead  for  Baal  ?  or  will 
ye  save  him  ?  he  that  will  plead  for  him,  let  him  be  put 
to  death  whilst  it  is  yet  morning :  if  he  be  a  god,  let  him 
plead  for  himself,  because  one  hath  broken  down  his 

32  altar.  Therefore  on  that  day  he  called  him  Jerubbaal, 
saying,  Let  Baal  plead  against  him,  because  he  hath 
broken  down  his  altar. 


31.  The  full  force  of  the  question  in  the  Hebrew  here  can 
only  be  brought  out  in  English  by  strongly  accenting  the  pronouns 
'Will  you  plead  for  Baal?  or  will  you  save  him?  '  Cf.  Job  xiii.  8. 
'  Will  ye  contend  for  God  ? '  where,  however,  the  accent  is  on 
'  God  '  and  not  on  the  pronoun. 

he  that  will  plead  for  him  (i.  e.  take  his  part\  let  him  be 
put  to  death  whilst  it  is  yet  morning'.  These  words  interrupt 
the  context,  and  may  have  been  introduced  from  a  marginal  note. 
'  Before  morning'  (marg.).  i.  e.  before  the  morrow.  This  is  the 
more  natural  sense  of  the  Hebrew  words,  but  they  may  mean 
'  while  it  is  still  morning.' 

32.  The  explanation  of  the  name  Jerubbaal  is,  like  many  other 
such  in  the  O.  T.,  based  on  a  similarity  of  sound,  though  accom- 
panied by  real  difference  of  meaning.  Even  if  the  first  part  of  the 
name  were  derived  from  the  verb  meaning  '  to  strive  '  (which 
would  presuppose  the  existence  of  a  form  of  the  verb  different 
from  that  in  use  everywhere  else),  it  would  mean  'Baal  strives.' 
The  real  meaning  is  probably  'Baal  founds,'  and  we  do  not  know 
whj'  such  a  name  was  given.  As  the  name  Baal  was  used  of 
Yahweh  in  early  times,  we  find  it  as  a  constituent  in  several 
Hebrew  names  Tshbaal.  Meribaal.  &c.\    Later,  an  endeavour  was 


JUDGES  6.  33-39.     J  81 

Then  all  the  Midianites  and  the  Amalekites  and  the  33 
children  of  the  east  assembled  themselves  together ;  and 
they  passed  over,  and  pitched  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel. 
But  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  Gideon  ;  and  he  $\ 
blew  a  trumpet ;  and  Abiezer  was  gathered  together  after 
him.     And  he  sent  messengers  throughout  all  Manasseh  ;  35 
and  they  also  were  gathered  together  after  him  :  and  he 
sent  messengers  unto  Asher,  and  unto  Zebulun,  and  unto 
Naphtali  j  and  they  came  up  to  meet  them.     And  Gideon  36 
said  unto  God,  If  thou  wilt  save  Israel  by  mine  hand,  as 
thou  hast  spoken,  behold,  I  will  put  a  fleece  of  wool  on  37 
the  threshing-floor ;  if  there  be  dew  on  the  fleece  only, 
and  it  be  dry  upon  all  the^  ground,  then  shall  I  know 
that  thou  wilt  save  Israel  by  mine  hand,  as  thou  hast 
spoken.     And  it  was  so :   for  he  rose  up  early  on  the  3s 
morrow,  and  pressed  the  fleece  together,   and  wringed 
the  dew  out  of  the  fleece,   a  bowlful  of  water.     And  39 

made  to   explain  such  names  so  as  to  avoid  what  had  become 
offensive,  when  a  Baal  was  only  an  idol. 

vi.  33-35.  The  Midianites  in  Jezreel,  and  Gideon' s  preparations. 
Gideon's  belief  that  he  was  called  to  be  the  deliverer  of  his  people 
was  soon  put  to  the  test.  The  Midianites  came  into  Palestine 
again  on  one  of  their  raiding  expeditions.  This  time  they  passed 
over  the  Jordan  and  camped  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  i.  e.  the 
valley  leading  from  the  Jordan,  south  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  up  to 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Into  Gideon's  soul  came  that  rush  of 
superhuman  vigour  and  courage  which  the  people  called  'the 
spirit  of  Yahweh '  (see  iii.  10),  and  he  sent  the  war-summons  to 
his  own  people,  Abiezer,  to  follow  him.  According  to  viii.  2  it  was 
their  effort  that  drove  back  the  invaders,  but  here  we  are  told  he 
was  supported  by  the  tribes  of  the  neighbourhood,  Manasseh, 
Asher,  Zebulun  and  Naphtali  (Issachar  omitted  here  as  elsewhere 
in  this  book).     The  story  is  continued  in  vii.  1. 

vi.  36-40.  The  sign  of  the  fleece.  It  was  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  these  early  days  that  a  man  should  seek  to  know  the 
will  of  the  Deity  by  a  material  sign  (see  i.  1). 

As  the  name  Elohim  is  used  instead  of  Yahweh  for  God  in  this 
story,  it  is  probably  taken  by  the  editor  from  another  source. 

G 


82  JUDGES  6.  40—7.  3.     J 

Gideon  said  unto  God,  Let  not  thine  anger  be  kindled 
against  me,  and  I  will  speak  but  this  once :  let  me  prove, 
I  pray  thee,  but  this  once  with  the  fleece ;  let  it  now  be 
dry  only  upon  the  fleece,  and  upon  all  the  ground  let 

40  there  be  dew.  And  God  did  so  that  night :  for  it  was 
dry  upon  the  fleece  only,  and  there  was  dew  on  all  the 
ground. 

7  Then  Jerubbaal,  who  is  Gideon,  and  all  the  people 
that  were  with  him,  rose  up  early,  and  pitched  beside 
the  spring  of  Harod :  and  the  camp  of  Midian  was  on 
the  north  side  of  them,  by  the  hill  of  Moreh,  in  the  valley. 

2  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Gideon,  The  people  that  are 
with  thee  are  too  many  for  me  to  give  the  Midianites  into 
their  hand,  lest  Israel  vaunt  themselves  against  me,  saying, 

3  Mine  own  hand  hath  saved  me.  Now  therefore  go  to, 
proclaim  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  saying,  Whosoever  is 
fearful  and  trembling,  let  him  return  and  depart  from 
mount  Gilead.  And  there  returned  of  the  people  twenty 
and  two  thousand;  and  there  remained  ten  thousand. 

39  a  is  quoted  from  Gen.  xviii.  32. 

vii.  1.     Continuation  of  the  ivar  movement  from  vi.  35. 

1.  In  vi.  33  the  Midianites  are  in  Jezreel,  therefore  if  this  verse 
is  from  the  same  story  the  places  mentioned  here  must  be  in  that 
valley. 

the  spring*  of  Harod  is  mentioned  only  in  this  place,  and  is 
generally  identified  with  'Ain  Jalud  at  the  foot  of  Gilboa. 

the  hill  of  Moreh  would  then  be  the  hill  Neby  Duhy  about 
four  miles  away  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley. 

vii.  2-8.  The  reduction  of  Gideon's  army.  Yahweh  requires  of 
Gideon  that  he  should  reduce  the  number  of  his  followers,  that 
the  coming  victory  may  not  be  an  occasion  of  boasting  to  the 
Hebrews.  Gideon  accordingly  dismisses  twenty-two  thousand 
who  are  afraid.  Yahweh  demands  still  another  sifting  of  the  ten 
thousand  who  remain.  By  a  test  of  their  caution,  shown  in  the 
way  they  drink  at  the  spring,  Gideon  reduces  his  army  to  three 
hundred  men.     To  these  Yahweh  promises  victory. 

3.  and  depart  from  mount  Gilead.  Mount  Gilead  is  east  of 
the  Jordan,  and  so  must  be  a  mistake  here.    It  has  been  suggested 


JUDGES  7.  4-8.     J  83 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  Gideon,  The  people  are  yet  4 
too  many ;  bring  them  down  unto  the  water,  and  I  will 
try  them  for  thee  there  :  and  it  shall  be,  that  of  whom  I 
say  unto  thee,  This  shall  go  with  thee,  the  same  shall  go 
with  thee  \  and  of  whomsoever  I  say  unto  thee,  This  shall 
not  go  with  thee,  the  same  shall  not  go.     So  he  brought  5 
down  the  people  unto  the  water  :  and  the  Lord  said  unto 
Gideon,  Every  one  that  lappeth  of  the  water  with  his 
tongue,  as  a  dog  lappeth,  him  shalt  thou  set  by  himself; 
likewise  every  one  that  boweth  down  upon  his  knees  to 
drink.    And  the  number  of  them  that  lapped,  putting  their  6 
hand  to  their  mouth,  was  three  hundred  men  :  but  all  the 
rest  of  the  people  bowed  down  upon  their  knees  to  drink 
water.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  Gideon,  By  the  three  7 
hundred  men  that  lapped  will  I  save  you,  and  deliver 
the  Midianites  into  thine  hand  :  and  let  all  the  people 
go  every  man  unto  his  place.    So  the  people  took  victuals  8 
in  their  hand,  and  their  trumpets  :   and  he  sent  all  the 

that  '  mount  Gilboa '  was  the  original  reading.  The  word 
translated  'depart'  is  found  only  here,  and  its  meaning  is  uncertain. 
Moore  suggests  that  two  letters  of  this  verb  have  been  inverted 
and  the  name  corrupted,  and  that  the  original  text  was  'and 
Gideon  tested  (the  same  Hebrew  word  as 'try'  in  verse  4)  them.' 
There  is  no  manuscript  authority  for  this,  but  without  some  such 
sentence  we  have  only  Yahweh's  command  and  no  mention  of 
Gideon's  carrying  it  out. 

4-6.  Various  explanations  have  been  given  of  the  methods  of 
drinking  mentioned.  The  only  one  that  seems  to  satisfy  the  text 
as  it  stands  is  that  the  three  hundred  took  water  in  their  hands 
and  licked  it  up  as  a  dog  laps,  and  that  the  rest  bent  down  on  their 
knees  and  drank  directly  from  the  stream.  The  reason  for  choosing 
the  former  has  also  been  explained  in  many  ways,  for  example,  the 
caution  shown  by  them  in  not  putting  themselves  in  a  defenceless 
posture  when  the  enemy  was  near,  or  the  power  of  being  satisfied 
with  little  water  in  a  hot  country,  &c.  It  may  be,  however,  that 
the  tradition  only  meant  to  indicate  an  arbitrary  sign,  like  that 
of  the  fleece  above.  It  is  curious  that,  judging  by  viii.  a,  these 
men  were  Abiezrites. 

G   2 


84  JUDGES  7.  9-13.     J 

men  of  Israel  every  man  unto  his  tent,  but  retained  the 

three  hundred  men  :  and  the  camp  of  Midian  was  beneath 

him  in  the  valley. 
9      And  it  came  to  pass  the  same  night,  that  the  Lord 

said  unto  him,  Arise,  get  thee  down  into  the  camp ;  for 
ro  I  have  delivered  it  into  thine  hand.     But  if  thou  fear  to 

go  down,  go  thou  with  Purah  thy  servant  down  to  the 

11  camp :  and  thou  shalt  hear  what  they  say;  and  afterward 
shall  thine  hands  be  strengthened  to  go  down  into  the 
camp.  Then  went  he  down  with  Purah  his  servant  unto 
the  outermost  part  of  the  armed  men  that  were  in  the 

12  camp.  And  the  Midianites  and  the  Amalekites  and  all 
the  children  of  the  east  lay  along  in  the  valley  like  locusts 
for  multitude ;  and  their  camels  were  without  number,  as 

1 3  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea  shore  for  multitude.  And 
when  Gideon  was  come,  behold,  there  was  a  man  that 
told  a  dream  unto  his  fellow,  and  said,  Behold,  I  dreamed 
a  dream,  and,  lo,  a  cake  of  barley  bread  tumbled  into  the 
camp  of  Midian,  and  came  unto  the  tent,  and  smote  it 
that  it  fell,  and  turned  it  upside  down,  that  the  tent  lay 

vii.  9-14.  Gideon's  visit  to  the  Midianite  camp.  Two  courses  of 
action  are  suggested  to  Gideon  :  the  one  a  night  attack  at  once, 
in  the  confident  belief  that  Yahweh  will  give  him  victory  (verse  9% 
the  other,  a  private  reconnoitre  to  see  the  state  of  affairs.  He  is 
afraid  to  risk  the  former,  so  takes  his  servant,  steals  into  the  out- 
skirts of  the  Midianite  camp,  and  hears  enough  to  make  him  believe 
in  the  success  of  a  sudden  attack. 

12.  Cf.  vi.  5. 

13.  Every  dream  in  olden  time  had  its  meaning,  and  was  in 
some  sort  a  message  from  the  Deity.  Gideon  overhears  two 
Midianites  talking  in  a  tent  of  such  a  message.  One  of  the  flat 
round  cakes  of  barley-bread  used  by  nomads  falls  into  the 
Midianite  camp,  and  rolling  on  its  edge  like  a  wheel,  strikes 
against  the  tent  of  the  sleeper  and  overturns  it.  This  dream  is 
interpreted  by  the  friend  of  the  speaker  as  indicating  the  destruc- 
tion of  Midian  by  '  a  man  of  Israel.'  Gideon,  as  he  hears,  at  once 
realizes  that  such  an  interpretation  betrays  a  feeling  of  fear  among 
the  Midianites  that  promises  well  for  his  own  success. 


JUDGES  7.  14-19.     J  85 

along.      And    his   fellow   answered   and   said,    This    is  14 
nothing  else  save  the  sword  of  Gideon  the  son  of  Joash, 
a   man  of  Israel :    into  his   hand  God  hath   delivered 
Midian,  and  all  the  host. 

And  it  was  so,  when  Gideon  heard  the  telling  of  the  15 
dream,  and  the  interpretation  thereof,  that  he  worshipped; 
and  he  returned  into  the  camp  of  Israel,  and  said,  Arise ; 
for  the  Lord  hath  delivered  into  your  hand  the  host  of 
Midian.     And  he  divided  the  three  hundred  men  into  16 
three  companies,  and  he  put  into  the  hands  of  all  of 
them  trumpets,  and  empty  pitchers,  with  torches  within 
the  pitchers.     And  he  said  unto  them,  Look  on  me,  and  17 
do  likewise  :  and,  behold,  when  I  come  to  the  outermost 
part  of  the  camp,  it  shall  be  that,  as  I  do,  so  shall  ye  do. 
When  I  blow  the  trumpet,  I  and  all  that  are  with  me,  18 
then  blow  ye  the  trumpets  also  on  every  side  of  all  the 
camp,  and  say,  For  the  Lord  and  for  Gideon. 

So  Gideon,  and  the  hundred  men  that  were  with  him,  19 
came  unto  the  outermost  part  of  the  camp  in  the  begin- 

vii.  15-18.  Gideon's  return  and  preparations.  Two  traditions 
seem  to  have  been  combined  in  these  and  the  following  verses 
(see  Introduction).  According  to  one  of  them,  a  panic  was 
produced  by  the  simultaneous  blowing  of  trumpets  in  accordance 
with  Gideon's  instructions  in  verse  18.  According  to  the  other 
story  Gideon  gave  his  men  pitchers  with  lighted  torches  in  them, 
and  it  was  by  the  breaking  of  the  pitchers  and  flashing  of  the 
torches  that  the  Midianites  were  thrown  into  confusion.  By  the 
combination  of  these  two  accounts  Gideon's  men  have  their  hands 
more  than  full. 

15.  worshipped:  prostrated  himself,  recognizing  the  encour- 
agement as  coming  from  his  God. 

16.  three  companies:  so  as  to  come  upon  the  enemy  from 
three  sides  and  make  them  believe  they  were  surrounded.  (Cf. 
1  Sam.  xi.  11.) 

18.  and  say,  Por  the  IiGBD  and  for  Gideon  :  evidently  a  note, 
introduced  probabby  from  verse  20.     The  verb  '  say  ]  is  very  tame. 

vii.  19-25.      The  attack. 

19.  in  the  beginning-  of  the  middle  watch.     The  night  was 


86  JUDGES  7.  20-24.     J 

ning  of  the  middle  watch,  when  they  had  but  newly  set 
the  watch  :    and  they  blew  the  trumpets,  and  brake  in 

20  pieces  the  pitchers  that  were  in  their  hands.  And  the 
three  companies  blew  the  trumpets,  and  brake  the 
pitchers,  and  held  the  torches  in  their  left  hands,  and 
the  trumpets  in  their  right  hands  to  blow  withal :  and 

2i  they  cried,  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon.  And 
they  stood  every  man  in  his  place  round  about  the  camp  : 
and  all  the  host  ran ;  and  they  shouted,  and  put  them  to 

22  flight.  And  they  blew  the  three  hundred  trumpets,  and 
the  Lord  set  every  man's  sword  against  his  fellow,  and 
against  all  the  host :  and  the  host  fled  as  far  as  Beth-shit- 
tah  toward  Zererah,  as  far  as  the  border  of  Abel-meholah, 

23  by  Tabbath.  And  the  men  of  Israel  were  gathered  to- 
gether out  of  Naphtali,  and  out  of  Asher,  and  out  of  all 

24  Manasseh,  and  pursued  after  Midian.     And  Gideon  sent 

divided  into  three  watches  of  four  hours  each.  The  middle 
watch  would  begin  about  10  p.m.,  and  as  the  attack  was  made 
'  when  they  had  but  newly  set  the  watch,'  i.  e.  posted  the  guards 
of  the  new  watch,  that  would  be  soon  after  10. 

20.  l  For  Yahweh  and  for  Gideon  '  (without  the  word  '  sword  ') 
was  probably  the  battle-cry  (as  in  verse  18). 

21,  22.  Gideon's  men  stood  still  on  three  sides  of  the  camp, 
shouting  and  blowing  their  trumpets.  The  Midianites,  panic- 
stricken,  fled  in  the  one  direction  open,  and  believing  themselves  to 
be  pursued,  and  that  their  fellow  fugitives  were  Hebrews,  turned 
their  weapons  against  one  another. 

The  four  places  mentioned  have  not  been  satisfactorily  identified, 
but  probably  lay  along  the  valleys  of  Jezreel  and  the  Jordan. 
Beth-shittah  may  be  the  modern  Shutta,  about  halfway  between 
Shunem  and  Beth-shean,  and  Zererah  may  be  the  same  place  as 
the  Zeredah  of  1  Kings  vii.  Abel-meholah,  according  to  Jerome, 
was  ten  miles  south  of  Beth-shean,  and  so  would  almost  correspond 
with  the  modern  <Ain  Helweh  (9^  miles).  Tabbath  is  quite 
unknown. 

23,  24.  After  their  success  in  attack  the  Abiezrites  were  joined 
in  the  pursuit  of  Midian  by  their  kinsmen  of  Manasseh,  and 
according  to  the  story  as  it  stands,  bj'  men  from  Asher  and 
Naphtali.     As   the   flight   was   evidently   southwards   down   the 


JUDGES  7.  25—8.  3.     J  87 

messengers  throughout  all  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim, 
saying,  Come  down  against  Midian,  and  take  before  them 
the  waters,  as  far  as  Beth-barah,  even  Jordan.  So  all  the 
men  of  Ephraim  were  gathered  together,  and  took  the 
waters  as  far  as  Beth-barah,  even  Jordan.  And  they  took  25 
the  two  princes  of  Midian,  Oreb  and  Zeeb ;  and  they 
slew  Oreb  at  the  rock  of  Oreb,  and  Zeeb  they  slew  at 
the  winepress  of  Zeeb,  and  pursued  Midian  :  and  they 
brought  the  heads  of  Oreb  and  Zeeb  to  Gideon  beyond 
Jordan. 

And  the  men  of  Ephraim  said  unto  him,  Why  hast  8 
thou  served  in  thus,  that  thou  calledst  us  not,  when  thou 
wentest  to  fight  with  Midian  ?     And  they  did  chide  with 
him  sharply.     And  he  said  unto  them,  What  have  I  now  2 
done  in  comparison  of  you  ?    Is  not  the  gleaning  of  the 
grapes  of  Ephraim  better  than  the  vintage  of  Abiezer? 
God  hath  delivered  into  your  hand  the  princes  of  Midian,  3 
Oreb  and  Zeeb  :  and  what  was  I  able  to  do  in  comparison 

Jordan  valley,  the  men  of  Ephraim  were  hastily  summoned  to  cut 
them  off.  The  site  of  Beth-barah  is  unknown,  but  the  Midianites, 
too  hotly  pursued  to  be  able  as  a  whole  to  cross  any  of  the  small 
fords  across  the  Jordan,  many  seem  to  have  made  for  the  larger 
one  at  the  present  Damieh.  hoping  either  to  cross  there  or  to  get 
over  the  tributary  stream  (Wiidi  Far'ah)  and  escape  to  the  fords 
of  the  lower  river.  The  prompt  response  of  the  Ephraimites  cut 
them  off  from  both  possibilities. 

25.  There  were  two  sites  known  in  the  author's  days  as  the 
rock  of  Oreb  and  the  winepress  of  Zeeb.  These  names  kept  in 
remembrance  the  death  of  the  two  Midianite  princes. 

viii.  r-3.  The  author  has  already  anticipated  the  events  of  verse  4 
by  mentioning  Gideon  in  vii.  35  as  beyond  Jordan.  He  now 
interrupts  the  thread  of  the  battle- story  to  tell  of  the  Ephraimites' 
jealousy  and  how  Gideon  appeased  it. 

Ephraim  was  the  most  important  tribe  of  Northern  Palestine, 
and  was  jealous  of  its  position.  In  xii.  1-7  we  find  it  again 
assuming  a  dictatorial  tone,  but  meeting  with  a  different  recep- 
tion. The  Abiezrites  were  too  small  and  weak  to  oppose 
EphrairrTs    claims,  and   with    an    ingenuity   that    seems   to   have 


88  JUDGES  8.  4-7.     J 

of  you  ?  Then  their  anger  was  abated  toward  him,  when 

4  he  had  said  that.  And  Gideon  came  to  Jordan,  and 
passed  over,  he,  and  the  three  hundred  men  that  were 

5  with  him,  faint,  yet  pursuing.  And  he  said  unto  the 
men  of  Succoth,  Give,  I  pray  you,  loaves  of  bread  unto 
the  people  that  follow  me ;  for  they  be  faint,  and  I  am 
pursuing  after  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  the  kings  of  Miction. 

6  And  the  princes  of  Succoth  said,  Are  the  hands  of  Zebah 
and  Zalmunna  now  in  thine  hand,  that  we  should  give 

7  bread  unto  thine  army?  And  Gideon  said,  Therefore 
when  the  Lord  hath  delivered  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  into 
mine  hand,  then  I  will  tear  your  flesh  with  the  thorns  of 

belonged  to  his  family   (ef.  vi.   3O   Gideon   appeased  the  wrath 
of  his  accusers. 

viii.  4-21.  Gideon  east  of  the  Jordan.  The  story  of  Gideon's 
pursuit  is  taken  up  again  from  vii.  24.  After  having  sent 
messengers  to  Ephraim  (whose  success  and  later  complaint 
have  been  interpolated  in  vii.  25.  viii.  1-3),  he  himself  crossed 
one  of  the  fords  of  the  upper  Jordan,  and  following  such  as  had 
managed  to  escape  this  way,  made  for  the  camp  where  the 
Midianite  kings  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  were.  Against  these  he 
was  urged  by  the  sacred  duty  of  blood-revenge,  for  they  had,  on 
some  occasion  of  which  we  are  not  told,  killed  his  brothers  at 
Tabor.  He  captured  the  two  kings,  and  after  punishing  the 
cities  of  Succoth  and  Penuel  which  had  refused  him  food,  he  put 
them  to  death  with  his  own  hand. 

4.  the  three  hundred  men  alone  accomplish  Gideon's  work  of 
revenge. 

faint  and  pursuing-  (not  '  yet '  as  in  the  English)  seems  so 
weak  that  the  Greek  translation,  which  reads  '  faint  and  hungnv 
is  probably  the  original. 

5.  The  site  of  Succoth  is  not  certain,  but  it  is  general!}' 
identified  with  Tell  Deir  'Alia,  east  of  the  Jordan  and  about  a 
mile  north  of  the  Jabbok. 

Zebah  and  Zalmunna,.  These  names,  which  must  naturally 
be  Midianitish,  are  read  as  Hebrew  words  meaning  '  Victim  '  and 
'  Refuge  refused  '  so  as  to  indicate  their  fate.  This  play  on  names 
is  frequent  in  the  O.T. 

6.  princes  of  Succoth  :  see  verse  14. 

7.  The  Hebrew  of  the  latter  part  of  this  verse  is  doubtful,  but 
the  meaning  evidently  is — '  I   will  throw  you  clown  naked,  and 


JUDGES  8.  8-14.     J  89 

the  wilderness  and  with  briers.     And  he  went  up  thence   8 
to  Penuel,  and  spake  unto  them  in  like  manner :  and  the 
men  of  Penuel  answered  him  as  the  men  of  Succoth  had 
answered.     And  he  spake  also  unto  the  men  of  Penuel,    9 
saying,  When  I  come  again  in  peace,  I  will  break  down 
this  tower. 

Now  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  were  in  Karkor,  and  their  10 
hosts  with  them,   about  fifteen  thousand  men,  all   that 
were  left  of  all  the  host  of  the  children  of  the  east :  for 
there  fell  an   hundred  and  twenty  thousand   men  that  it 
drew  sword.     And  Gideon  went  up  by  the  way  of  them 
that  dwelt  in  tents  on  the  east  of  Nobah  and  Jogbehah,  12 
and  smote  the  host ;  for  the  host  was  secure.    And  Zebah 
and  Zalmunna  fled  ;  and  he  pursued  after  them  ;  and  he 
took  the  two  kings  of  Midian,  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  and  13 
discomfited  all  the  host.     And  Gideon  the  son  of  Joash  14 
returned  from  the  battle  from  the  ascent  of  Heres.     And 
he  caught  a  young  man   of  the  men   of  Succoth,  and 

trample  on  3^011  with  thorns  and  teasels  as  the  threshing-board 
(a  flat  board  set  with  stones  on  the  under  side)  passes  over  the 
corn.' 

8.  Penuel:  a  place  of  some  importance  in  the  time  of 
Jeroboam  I  (1  Kings  xii),  mentioned  also  in  Gen.  xxxii.  3T.  It 
was  near  the  Jabbok,  but  its  exact  site  is  not  known. 

9.  this  tower :  the  stronghold  often  found  within  an  un- 
protected city. 

10.  11.  Karkor  is  unknown,  so  also  Nobah,  which  is  mentioned 
in  Num.  xxxii.  42  as  a  city  of  Manasseh.  Jogbehah  (Num. 
xxxii.  35)  is  probabty  Khirbet  el-Gubeihat  to  the  north-west  of 
'Amman. 

the  way  of  them  that  dwelt  in  tents  is  a  guess  at  the 
meaning  of  a  Hebrew  sentence  which  is  so  corrupt  that  it  is 
impossible  to  say  what  the  original  was. 

13.  from  the  ascent  of  Keres  :  rather  '  from  above  Heres,'  or 
'  from  the  pass  of  Heres.'  Nothing  is  known  of  such  a  place  in 
this  locality. 

14.  The  city  was  governed  as  usual  by  '  elders,'  or  heads  of  the 
resident  families,  and  '  princes,'  or  officers  of  these  elders  appointed 
for  militarj'1  and  perhaps  special  civic  duties. 


90  JUDGES  8.  15-21.     J 

inquired  of  him  :  and  he  described  for  him  the  princes 
of  Succoth,  and  the  elders  thereof,  seventy  and  seven 

15  men.  And  he  came  unto  the  men  of  Succoth,  and  said, 
Behold  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  concerning  whom  ye  did 
taunt  me,  saying,  Are  the  hands  of  Zebah  and  Zalmunna 
now  in  thine  hand,  that  we  should  give  bread  unto  thy 

16  men  that  are  weary?  And  he  took  the  elders  of  the  city, 
and  thorns  of  the  wilderness  and  briers,  and  with  them 

17  he  taught  the  men  of  Succoth.     And  he  brake  down  the 

18  tower  of  Penuel,  and  slew  the  men  of  the  city.  Then 
said  he  unto  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  What  manner  of 
men  were  they  whom  ye  slew  at  Tabor?  And  they 
answered,  As  thou  art,  so  were  they ;  each  one  resembled 

x9  the  children  of  a  king.  And  he  said.  They  were  my 
brethren,  the  sons  of  my  mother :  as  the  Lord  liveth,  if 

20  ye  had  saved  them  alive,  I  would  not  slay  you.  And  he 
said  unto  Jether  his  firstborn,  Up,  and  slay  them.  But 
the  youth  drew  not  his  sword :  for  he  feared,  because  he 

21  was  yet  a  youth.  Then  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  said,  Rise 
thou,  and  fall  upon  us :  for  as  the  man  is,  so  is  his 
strength.     And  Gideon  arose,  and  slew  Zebah  and  Zal- 

16.  taught.  All  the  early  translations  read  'threshed,'  as  in 
R.  V.  marg.  and  verse  7. 

viii.  18-21.  The  two  Midianite  kings,  either  during  this  or 
some  former  raid,  had  killed  the  brothers  of  Gideon  at  Tabor 
(verses  18  ff.).  According  to  the  practice  of  blood-revenge  which 
obtained  until  the  introduction  of  fixed  law  and  centralized 
authority,  and  which  is  recognized  in  the  Pentateuch  (cf.  the 
establishment  of  cities  of  refuge),  it  was  Gideon's  duty  to  slay 
the  murderers  and  to  make  war  upon  their  people  until  he  had 
done  this.  The  author  of  our  book  has  not  mentioned  this 
incentive  before,  probably  because  he  is  concerned  with  the 
actions  of  Gideon  only  as  a  deliverer  of  his  people. 

18.  What  manner  of  men.  The  Hebrew  is  '  Where  are  the 
men?'  This  is  also  the  reading  of  the  Greek  version.  The 
English  is  a  translation  of  the  Latin. 

20.  Jether  :  the  same  name  as  Jethro. 


JUDGES  8.  22-2r,.     J  91 

munna,  and  took  the  crescents  that  were  on  their  camels' 
necks. 

Then  the  men  of  Israel  said  unto  Gideon,  Rule  thou  22 
over  us,  both  thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  son's  son  also : 
for  thou  hast  saved  us  out  of  the  hand  of  Midian.     And  23 
Gideon  said  unto  them,  I  will  not  rule  over  you,  neither 
shall  my  son  rule  over  you  :  the  Lord  shall  rule  over  you. 
And  Gideon  said  unto  them,  I  would  desire  a  request  of  24 
you,  that  ye  would  give  me  every  man  the  earrings  of  his 
spoil.     (For  they  had  golden  earrings,  because  they  were 
Ishmaelites.)     And  they  answered,  We  will  willingly  give  25 
them.     And  they  spread  a  garment,  and  did  cast  therein 
every  man  the  earrings  of  his  spoil.     And  the  weight  of  26 

21.  the  crescents  were  ornaments,  which  made  of  gold  were 
worn  by  men  (verse  26),  and  of  various  metals  are  put  on  the 
necks  of  camels  up  to  the  present  da}\ 

viii.  22-23.  Gideon  refuses  Kingship.  This  is  the  first  recorded 
attempt  among  the  Hebrews  to  establish  an  hereditar}'  ruler. 

22.  The  expression  men  of  Israel  is  the  general  one  used  by 
the  author  throughout  this  book,  but  the  kingship  offered  to 
Gideon  was  probably  only  that  over  his  own  tribe  of  Manasseh 

compare  the  story  of  Abimelech).  The  novelty  consisted  in  the 
offer  to  make  the  rule  pass  from  father  to  son.  The  words 
'  Yahweh  will  rule  over  you  ?  are  generally  taken  to  indicate  the 
reason  of  Gideon's  refusal,  and  are  supposed  to  be  late  because 
the  Israelites  onby  came,  after  a  long  and  sad  experience  of 
kingship,  to  believe  that  Yahweh  would  not  tolerate  an  earthy 
rival  as  king  of  Israel.  Probably  however  Gideon's  reasons  are 
not  given  here  at  all,  and  this  sentence  only  expresses  his  belief 
that  Yahweh  will  look  after  the  people,  even  though  he  (Gideon) 
will  not  take  charge  of  them. 

viii.  24-27.     Gideon's  spoil  and  its  use. 

24.  earrings.  The  Hebrew  word  means  'rings'  only,  and 
may  refer  to  nose-rings — which  however  are  mentioned  in  the 
O.  T.  only  as  used  by  women — or  ear-rings. 

Ishmaelites  must  mean  here  nomads  in  manner  of  life 
resembling  Ishmaelites,  for  according  to  Gen.  xxv  these  are 
descendants  of  Hagar,  while  the  Midianites  are  descendants  of 
Keturah. 


92  JUDGES  S.  27-32     J  DA 

the  golden  earrings  that  he  requested  was  a  thousand  and 
seven  hundred  shekels  of  gold  ;  beside  the  crescents,  and 
the  pendants,  and  the  purple  raiment  that  was  on  the 
kings    of    Midian,    and    beside    the   chains    that   were 

2;  about  their  camels'  necks.  And  Gideon  made  an  ephod 
thereof,  and  put  it  in  his  city,  even  in  Ophrah :  [D]  and 
all  Israel  went  a  whoring  after  it  there  :  and  it  became  a 

2S  snare  unto  Gideon,  and  to  his  house.  So  Midian  was 
subdued  before  the  children  of  Israel,  and  they  lifted  up 
their  heads  no  more.  And  the  land  had  rest  forty  years 
in  the  days  of  Gideon. 

29  And  Jerubbaal  the  son  of  Joash  went  and  dwelt  in  his 

30  own  house.     [A]  And  Gideon  had  threescore  and  ten  sons 

31  of  his  body  begotten  :  for  he  had  many  wives.  And  his 
concubine  that  was  in  Shechem,  she  also  bare  him  a  son, 

?,2  and  he  called  his   name  Abimelech.     And  Gideon  the 

26.  a  thousand  and  seven  hundred  shekels  :  nearly  seventy 
pounds. 

crescents :  thin  flat  plates  of  metal  in  crescent  form,  worn 
round  the  neck. 

pendants :  perhaps  ear-rings. 

purple:  a  reddish-purple  costly  in  all  ages,  and  used  for 
royal  garments. 

chains,  &c,  neck-pendants.  Animals  in  the  East  are  often 
adorned  with  such  ornaments. 

27.  Gideon  made  aa  ephod.  The  traditions  in  chs.  vi  and  vii 
agree  in  ascribing  to  Gideon  a  strong  religious  character.  This 
is  confirmed  by  his  use  of  his  share  of  the  Midianitish  spoil.  The 
ephod  was  an  image  of  some  sort,  very  much  in  use  for  consulting 
the  oracle  (see  xvii).  At  the  time  when  the  Book  of  Judges  was 
compiled  such  images  were  an  abomination,  so  the  writer  makes 
this  one  a  snare  unto  Gideon  and  to  his  house.  In  itself,  however, 
and  in  Gideon's  day,  it  was  the  natural  expression  of  a  religious 
nature. 

28.  The  Deuteronomic  author's  usual  remark  that  the  land  had 
rest  for  a  generation  after  the  great  deeds  of  this  'judge.' 

29.  A  verse  taken  from  the  Jerubbaal  traditions  and  put  in 
here  without  much  relation  to  context. 

viii.  30  32.     Gideon* s  family  and  death.     These  two  verses  are 


JUDGES  8.  33—9.  i.     ADJ  93 

son  of  Joash  died  in  a  good  old  age,  and  was  buried 
in  the  sepulchre  of  Joash  his  father,  in  Ophrah  of  the 
Abiezrites. 

[D]  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  soon  as  Gideon  was  dead,  33 
that  the  children  of  Israel  turned  again,  and  went  a  whor- 
ing after  the  Baalim,  and  made  Baal-berith  their  god.    And  34 
the  children  of  Israel  remembered  not  the  Lord  their 
God,  who  had  delivered  them  out  of  the  hand  of  all  their 
enemies  on  every  side :  neither  shewed  they  kindness  to  35 
the  house  of  Jerubbaal,  who  is  Gideon,  according  to  all 
the  goodness  which  he  had  shewed  unto  Israel. 

[J]  And  Abimelech  the  son  of  Jerubbaal  went  to  She-  9 

evidently  an  introduction  to  ch.  ix,  and  like  it  were  probably 
added  to  the  book  in  its  later  form  (see  ix). 

viii.  33-35.  Again  the  editor's  account  of  the  defection  of 
the  Hebrews  from  Yahweh  after  the  death  of  the  '  judge.'  The 
sin  of  the  Hebrews  was  in  turning  from  the  worship  of  Yahweh 
their  own  God  to  the  worship  of  Canaanitish  gods.  Although  the 
writer  felt  bound  to  make  a  depreciatory  remark  (verse  27 b) 
about  Gideon's  ephod,  he  recognized  that  its  establishment  was 
not  a  '  turning  away  '  from  Yahweh. 

33.  Baal-taerith  :  i.  e.  Baal  of  a  covenant.  The  name  suggests 
an  attempt  to  unite  the  Hebrews  of  this  district  with  the 
Canaanites  in  it  by  the  common  worship  of  a  Baal  created  for 
the  purpose  (see  also  ix.  4,  46). 

ix.  1-6.  Abimelech.  The  editor  has  told  in  the  usual  terms  (viii. 
33-35)  how  after  the  death  of  Gideon  the  Israelites  turned  from 
Yahweh,  and  should  now  tell  how  Yahweh  was  angry  and  sold 
them  into  the  hands  of  another  nation  until  they  repented,  when 
He  raised  up  another  'judge.'  But  this  does  not  occur  until  x.  6  ff. 
It  is  clear  that  the  Deuteronomic  editor  did  not  count  Abimelech 
as  a  judge.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  story  of  Abimelech  was 
contained  in  the  collection  of  traditions  from  which  our  author 
drew  (see  Introd.),  and  we  are  compelled  to  think  that  either  he 
put  the  story  in,  as  ii  is,  as  a  supplement  to  Gideon's  story,  or  that 
he  omitted  it  and  it  was  introduced  later  from  the  source  in  a 
revision  of  the  book,  with  viii.  30-32  as  a  connecting  link. 

1.  Abimelech  ('my  father  is  Melek,'  where  Melek  may  be 
Yahweh  or  another  god)  was  the  offspring  of  a  connexion  in 
which  the  woman  remained  in  her  own  home  and  the  children  were 
reckoned  to  the  mother's  family  (not,  as  in  regular  marriage,  to  the 


94  JUDGES  9.  2-5.     J 

chcm  unto  his  mother's  brethren,  and  spake  with  them, 
and  with  all  the  family  of  the  house  of  his  mother's  father, 

2  saying,  Speak,  I  pray  you,  in  the  ears  of  all  the  men  of 
Shechem,  Whether  is  better  for  you,  that  all  the  sons  of 
Jerubbaal,  which  are  threescore  and  ten  persons,  rule 
over  you,  or  that  one  rule  over  you  ?  remember  also  that 

3  I  am  your  bone  and  your  flesh.  And  his  mother's 
brethren  spake  of  him  in  the  ears  of  all  the  men  of  She- 
chem all  these  words  :  and  their  hearts  inclined  to  follow 

4  Abimelech  ;  for  they  said,  He  is  our  brother,  ±\nd  they 
gave  him  threescore  and  ten  pieces  of  silver  out  of  the 
house  of  Baal-berith,  wherewith  Abimelech   hired  vain 

5  and  light  fellows,  which  followed  him.  And  he  went 
unto  his  father's  house  at  Ophrah,  and  slew  his  brethren 
the  sons  of  Jerubbaal,  being  threescore  and  ten  persons, 
upon  one  stone  :  but  Jotham  the  youngest  son  of  Jerub- 
baal was  left ;  for  he  hid  himself. 

father's).  Abimelech  would  have  been  brought  up  at  first  in  his 
mother's  home,  but  seems  at  this  time  to  be  in  his  father's  house. 
His  mother  seems  to  have  been  of  a  Canaanitish  family  of  some 
influence,  though  Jotham  speaks  slightingly  of  her  as  his  father's 
maidservant  (verse  18). 

Shechem,  the  present  Nablus  (an  Arabic  corruption  of  the 
Roman  name,  Flavia  Neapolis),  lies  in  the  valley  between  Mounts 
Ebal  and  Gerizim  nearly  halfway  between  Jerusalem  and  Nazareth. 
It  is  regarded  here  (as  in  Gen.  xxxiv)  as  largely  Canaanitish, 
although  according  to  Joshua  xxiv.  32  (E)  Joseph  was  buried 
there.  At  a  later  time  the  Northern  kingdom  was  founded  here 
(1  Kings  xii.  1  ff.). 

2.  The  rule  over  you  seems  to  refer  to  an  influence  like  that 
of  the  early  Medicis  in  Florence,  not  constitutional,  but  very  real. 

your  hone  and  your  flesh  :  '  your  flesh  and  blood,'  as  we 
should  say.  This  appeal  was  specially  apt  under  the  circumstances 
mentioned  above  (verse  1). 

4.  vain  and  light  fellows  :  lit.  '  men  worthless  and  reckless ' 
(cf.  xi.  3).  Such  bands  of  men  were  often  employed  as  mercenary 
troops  in  mediaeval  Europe  for  similar  purposes. 

5.  upon  one  stone:  i.e.  like  beasts  at  a  sacrifice  (cf.  1  Sam. 
xiv.  33  f.). 


JUDGES  9.  6-1 1.     J  95 

And  all  the  men  of  Shechem  assembled  themselves  6 
together,  and  all  the  house  of  Millo,  and  went  and  made 
Abimelech  king,   by  the  oak  of  the  pillar  that  was  in 
Shechem.     And  when  they  told  it  to  Jotham,  he  went  7 
and  stood  in  the  top  of  mount  Gerizim,  and  lifted  up  his 
voice,  and  cried,  and  said  unto  them,  Hearken  unto  me, 
ye  men  of  Shechem,  that  God  may  hearken  unto  you. 
The  trees  went  forth  on  a  time  to  anoint  a  king  over  8 
them  5  and  they  said  unto  the  olive  tree,  Reign  thou  over 
us.     But  the  olive  tree  said  unto  them,  Should  I  leave  9 
my  fatness,  wherewith  by  me  they  honour  God  and  man, 
and  go  to  wave  to  and  fro  over  the  trees?  And  the  trees  10 
said  to  the  fig  tree,  Come  thou,  and  reign  over  us.     But  1 1 
the  fig  tree  said  unto  them,  Should  I  leave  my  sweetness, 

6.  the  house  of  Millo  in  other  passages  (e.  g.  2  Sam.  v.  9  ; 
1  Kings  ix.  15,  24  ;  2  Kings  xii.  20)  is  a  fortified  building,  but 
here  and  in  verse  15  it  is  used  with  the  •  men  of  Shechem  '  as  if  it 
were  the  name  of  a  family. 

The  word  translated  '  pillar '  i^marg.  '  garrison  ')  seems  to  have 
arisen  by  an  alteration  of  the  vowels  from  the  word  used  of 
a  sacred  stone.  These  sacred  stones  were  common  in  early 
days  (Jacob  erects  his  pillow  as  one  in  Gen.  xxviii.  18),  but  were 
associated  with  idolatry  in  later  times,  hence  the  alteration  here. 
For  the  sacred  tree  in  Shechem  see  Gen.  xxxv.  4  and  Joshua  xxiv. 
26,  where  the  stone  also  is  mentioned. 

ix.  7-21.  Jotham' s  address  to  the  Shechemites.  Jotham,  the  only 
son  of  Gideon  who  had  escaped  death  at  the  hands  of  Abimelech, 
learning  that  Abimelech  was  being  proclaimed  king,  went  up 
Mount  Gerizim  on  the  south  side  of  Shechem,  and  standing  on 
a  projecting  rock  (not  *  the  top,'  which  is  900  feet  high)  addressed 
the  assembled  crowd.  His  speech  consists  of  two  parts  : — (1) 
a  fable  (verses  8-15)  in  which  the  olive,  fig-tree,  and  vine  decline 
to  rule  over  the  trees,  because  God  has  given  them  nobler  work 
to  do  in  the  production  of  useful  fruits  ;  but  the  thorn,  which  bears 
no  such  fruit,  but  when  fired  is  capable  of  destroying  even  the 
noble  cedars,  accepts  the  invitation  and  boasts  in  ridiculous  fashion 
of  its  own  power  which  is  only  for  harm.  The  point  of  the  fable 
is  in  the  sarcastic  comparison  of  Abimelech  with  the  thorn. 
Fables  of  trees  and  beasts  were  known  among  the  Hebrews  as 
among  other  early  peoples.     We  have  another  short  one  of  trees 


96  JUDGES  9.  12-19.     J 

and  my  good  fruit,  and  go  to  wave  to  and  fro  over  the 

12  trees?  And  the  trees  said  unto  the  vine,  Come  thou,  and 

13  reign  over  us.  And  the  vine  said  unto  them,  Should  I 
leave  my  wine,  which  cheereth  God  and  man,  and  go  to 

14  wave  to  and  fro  over  the  trees  ?  Then  said  all  the  trees 

15  unto  the  bramble,  Come  thou,  and  reign  over  us.  And 
the  bramble  said  unto  the  trees,  If  in  truth  ye  anoint  me 
king  over  you,  then  come  and  put  your  trust  in  my 
shadow :  and  if  not,  let  fire  come  out  of  the  bramble, 

16  and  devour  the  cedars  of  Lebanon.  Now  therefore,  if 
ye  have  dealt  truly  and  uprightly,  in  that  ye  have  made 
Abimelech  king,  and  if  ye  have  dealt  well  with  Jerubbaal 
and  his  house,  and  have  done  unto  him  according  to  the 

17  deserving  of  his  hands;  (for  my  father  fought  for  you, 
and  adventured  his  life,   and  delivered  you  out  of  the 

18  hand  of  Midian  :  and  ye  are  risen  up  against  my  father's 
house  this  day,  and  have  slain  his  sons,  threescore  and 
ten  persons,  upon  one  stone,  and  have  made  Abimelech, 
the  son  of  his  maidservant,  king  over  the  men  of  She- 

19  chem,  because  he  is  your  brother ;)  if  ye  then  have  dealt 
truly  and  uprightly  with  Jerubbaal  and  with  his  house 

in  the  reply  of  Jehoash  of  Israel  to  Amaziah  of  Judah  (story  of 
the  thistle  and  the  cedar,  2  Kings  xiv.  9),  and  remains  of  animal 
fables  are  to  be  found  in  Proverbs. 

(2)  A  prayer  (verses  16-20)  that  the  Shechemites  and  Abimelech 
may  be  rewarded  according  to  their  deserts.  The  irony  of  the 
fable  is  kept  up  here,  especially  in  the  balanced  form  of  the  speech 
and  the  refraining  from  any  statement  of  his  own  judgement 
explicitly  stated.  '  If,'  he  says,  'you  have  dealt  well  with  Jerubbaal 
and  his  house  (what  you  have  done  is — you  have  killed  his 
legitimate  sons  and  made  the  son  of  his  maidservant  your  king), 
then  may  you  have  joy  of  one  another  ;  but  if  you  have  done 
evilly  and  ungratefully,  then  may  lire  from  your  thorn-king  come 
and  consume  you,  and  you  in  like  manner  consume  him.'  This 
imprecation  can  scarcely  be  called  the  application  of  the  fable, 
which  like  his  own  wish  in  this  part  is  too  clear  to  need  to  be 
explained. 


JUDGES  9.  20-25.     J  97 

this  day,  then  rejoice  ye  in  Abimelech,  and  let  him  also 
rejoice  in  you :  but  if  not,  let  fire  come  out  from  20 
Abimelech,  and  devour  the  men  of  Shechem,  and  the 
house  of  Millo ;  and  let  fire  come  out  from  the  men  of 
Shechem,  and  from  the  house  of  Millo,  and  devour 
Abimelech.  And  Jotham  ran  away,  and  fled,  and  went  21 
to  Beer,  and  dwelt  there,  for  fear  of  Abimelech  his 
brother. 

And  Abimelech  was  prince  over  Israel  three  years.  22 
And  God  sent  an  evil  spirit  between  Abimelech  and  the  23 
men   of  Shechem;    and    the   men   of    Shechem    dealt 
treacherously  with  Abimelech :  that  the  violence  done  to  24 
the  threescore  and  ten  sons  of  Jerubbaal  might  come, 
and  that  their  blood  might  be  laid  upon  Abimelech  their 
brother,  which  slew  them,  and  upon  the  men  of  Shechem, 
which  strengthened  his  hands  to  slay  his  brethren.     And  25 
the  men  of  Shechem  set  liers  in  wait  for  him  on  the  tops 

21.  Jotham  then  fled  to  Beer,  which  Eusebius  identifies  with 
a  place  of  that  name  eight  miles  north  of  Beth-shean  ;  but  Beer 
only  means  '  Well,'  and  there  were  many  places  of  that  name,  so 
that  we  cannot  say  where  it  was. 

ix.  22-49.  Rebellion  against  Abimelech  in  Shechem.  Two 
accounts  of  such  rebellions  are  given  here.  The  one  is  that  of 
a  party  of  Canaanitish  malcontents  led  by  a  man  named  Gaal. 
This  was  ended  by  Gaal's  expulsion  from  the  city  (verses  26-41). 
The  other  begins  in  verses  22-25,  1S  broken  off  by  the  story  of 
Gaal's  revolt  and  expulsion,  and  is  continued  in  verses  42-49. 
This  was  a  more  general  outbreak,  and  ended  in  the  destruction 
of  the  city  and  then  of  the  temple  of  El-berith  (=Baal-berith). 

22.  over  Israel  writes  the  compiler,  because  he  is  concerned 
with  Israelites  only.  Abimelech  was  king  over  the  Manassites 
and  Canaanites  who  inhabited  the  district  round  Shechem. 

23.  And  God  (Elohim)  sent  an  evil  spirit,  as  in  the  case  of 
Saul  (1  Sam.  xvi.  14,  xviii.  10)  and  the  false  prophets  of  Ahab's 
time  (1  Kings  xxii.  19-23).     Cf.  iii.  10. 

24.  A  remark  of  one  of  the  editors. 

25.  The  Shechemites  became  highway  robbers  and  made  the 
roads  insecure,  thus  damaging  Abimelech's  prestige.  They  also 
probably  plundered  his  caravans. 

H 


98  JUDGES  9.  26-29.     J 

of  the  mountains,  and  they  robbed  all  that  came  along 
that  way  by  them :  and  it  was  told  Abimelech. 

26  And  Gaal  the  son  of  Ebed  came  with  his  brethren, 
and  went  over  to  Shechem  :  and  the  men  of  Shechem 

27  put  their  trust  in  him.  And  they  went  out  into  the  field, 
and  gathered  their  vineyards,  and  trode  the  grapes,  and 
held  festival,  and  went  into  the  house  of  their  god,  and 

28  did  eat  and  drink,  and  cursed  Abimelech.  And  Gaal 
the  son  of  Ebed  said,  Who  is  Abimelech,  and  who  is 
Shechem,  that  we  should  serve  him  ?  is  not  he  the  son 
of  Jerubbaal  ?  and  Zebul  his  officer  ?  serve  ye  the  men 
of  Hamor  the  father  of  Shechem  :  but  why  should  we 

29  serve  him  ?  And  would  to  God  this  people  were  under 
my  hand  !  then  would  I  remove  Abimelech.  And  he 
said  to  Abimelech,  Increase  thine  army,  and  come  out. 

ix.  26-41.      The  revolt  and  expulsion  of  Gaal. 

26.  son  of  Ebed  :  i.  e.  '  of  a  slave.'  His  father's  real  name  was 
probably  Obed  (i.  e.  a  worshipper  of  some  god),  as  in  Ruth  iv. 

went  over  to   Shechem :   lit.    i  passed  by  Shechem.'     The 
expression  seems  to  point  to  Gaal  as  a  wandering  demagogue. 

27.  held  festival :  ///.  made  rejoicings.  The  word  for  '  rejoic- 
ings '  occurs  only  in  one  other  place  in  the  O.T.,  viz.  in  Lev.  xix.  24, 
where  it  is  translated  '  giving  praise.'  The  festival  was  celebrated, 
as  in  Roman  Catholic  lands  of  Europe  to-day,  by  worship  in  the 
temple  and  hilarious  merriment  outside  it.  Such  an  occasion 
Gaal  took,  as  Amos  probably  did  later  at  Beth-el,  for  addressing 
the  people.  (Cf.  Ibsen,  The  League  of  Youth,  Act.  i,  for  a 
similar  scene  in  modern  life.) 

28.  29.  The  men  of  Shechem  as  they  ate  and  drank  together 
cursed  their  tyrant,  and  Gaal  took  advantage  of  their  discontent 
to  address  them  in  words,  which  are  not  quite  clear  as  the}' stand, 
but  which  seem  to  mean  '  Who  is  Abimelech,  the  son  of  a  Hebrew 
father,  that  he  should  rule  over  Shechem  ?  Why  should  Shechem, 
a  Canaanitish  city,  serve  him  ?  Both  Abimelech  and  Zebul  his 
agent  are  only  Shechemite  subjects.  If  I  were  3'our  leader. 
I  would  soon  get  rid  of  Abimelech.  I  would  sa}'  to  Abimelech, 
"  Increase  your  army  and  come  to  battle.'"  The  only  changes 
made  thus  in  the  text  are,  '  they  served '  for  '  serve  ye '  in  verse 
28,  and  '  I  would  say  '  for  '  he  said '  in  verse  29.  Both  changes 
are  supported  by  Greek  translations. 


JUDGES  9.  30-35-     J  99 

And  when  Zebul  the  ruler  of  the  city  heard  the  words  of  3° 
Gaal  the  son  of  Ebed,  his  anger  was  kindled.     And  he  31 
sent  messengers  unto  Abimelech  craftily,  saying,  Behold, 
Gaal  the  son  of  Ebed  and  his  brethren  are  come  to  She- 
chem ;  and,  behold,  they  constrain  the  city  to  take  part 
against  thee.     Now  therefore,  up  by  night,  thou  and  the  32 
people  that  is  with  thee,  and  lie  in  wait  in  the  field :  and  33 
it  shall  be,  that  in  the  morning,  as  soon  as  the  sun  is  up, 
thou  shalt  rise  early,  and  set  upon  the  city :  and,  behold, 
when  he  and  the  people  that  is  with   him  come  out 
against  thee,  then  may  est  thou  do  to  them  as  thou  shalt 
find  occasion. 

And  Abimelech  rose  up,  and  all  the  people  that  were  34 
with  him,  by  night,  and  they  laid  wait  against  Shechem 
in  four  companies.     And  Gaal  the  son  of  Ebed  went  35 
out,  and  stood  in  the  entering  of  the  gate  of  the  city  : 
and  Abimelech  rose  up,  and  the  people  that  were  with 

ix.  30-33.   Zebul  reports  to  Abimelech. 

31.  craftily,  rather  as  in  marg.  '  in  Tormab,'  which  is  probably 
a  mistake  in  writing  for  Arumah  (see  verse  41). 

constrain  the  city  . . .  against  thee.  The  Hebrew  means  '  are 
besieging  the  city  against  thee,'  which  is  evidently  not  right. 
A  change  of  one  letter  would  give  'are  laying  snares  to  thy  harm ' ; 
or  we  may  conjecture  'are  stirring  up  the  city  against  thee.' 

32.  in  the  field :  i.  e.  in  the  open  country  round  Shechem.  The 
ambush  was  actually  set  in  the  hill-tops  (see  verse  36). 

ix.  34-41.  AbimelecWs  attack  and  GaaVs  expulsion.  Zebul 
evidently  pretended  to  be  friendly  to  Gaal,  and  drew  him  out 
to  the  usual  meeting-place,  the  gate  of  the  city,  in  the  early 
morning.  Gaal,  alarmed  at  the  sight  of  a  number  of  men  moving 
on  the  hills,  is  at  first  assured  by  Zebul  that  he  sees  but  the  shadows 
cast  on  the  hills  by  the  morning  sun,  but  when  the  approach  can 
be  no  longer  concealed,  Zebul  taunts  him  now  with  his  former 
boasting  against  Abimelech.  Gaal  actually  does  lead  his  followers 
(while  Zebul  doubtless  remained  in  the  city  with  his  party  and 
kept  order  there),  but  is  driven  back  into  the  city.  Some  of  his 
followers  were  wounded.  It  was  not  a  very  dreadful  fight,  and 
apparently  none  were  killed.  Zebul  had  no  trouble  now  in 
expelling  the  demagogue. 

H    2 


ioo  JUDGES  9.  36-43.     J 

36  him,  from  the  ambushment.  And  when  Gaal  saw  the 
people,  he  said  to  Zebul,  Behold,  there  come  people 
down  from  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  And  Zebul  said 
unto  him,  Thou  seest  the  shadow  of  the  mountains  as  if 

37  they  were  men.  And  Gaal  spake  again  and  said,  See, 
there  come  people  down  by  the  middle  of  the  land,  and 
one  company  cometh  by  the  way  of  the  oak  of  Meonenim. 

38  Then  said  Zebul  unto  him,  Where  is  now  thy  mouth, 
that  thou  saidst,  Who  is  Abimelech,  that  we  should 
serve  him?   is  not  this  the  people  that  thou  hast  de- 

39  spised  ?  go  out  now,  I  pray,  and  fight  with  them.  And 
Gaal  went  out  before  the  men  of  Shechem,  and  fought 

40  with  Abimelech.  And  Abimelech  chased  him,  and  he 
fled  before  him,  and  there  fell  many  wounded,  even  unto 

41  the  entering  of  the  gate.  And  Abimelech  dwelt  at 
Arumah :  and  Zebul  drave  out  Gaal  and  his  brethren, 

42  that  they  should  not  dwell  in  Shechem.  And  it  came  to 
pass  on  the  morrow,  that  the  people  went  out  into  the 

43  field ;    and   they   told   Abimelech.     And    he   took   the 


37.  the  middle  of  the  land,  or  'the  land's  navel,'  probably  the 
name  of  a  hill. 

the  oak  of  Meonenim,  or  'the  augur's  oak,1  another  of  the 
sacred  trees  (see  iv.  11,  vi.  n)  near  Shechem. 

41.  And  Abimelech  dwelt  at  Arumah.  Apparently  he  did 
not  care  to  show  himself  in  Shechem,  but  left  Zebul  to  manage 
his  interests  there.  The  site  of  Arumah  is  uncertain,  though  it 
may  be  the  modern  el-'Ormeh,  two  hours  south-east  of  Shechem. 

ix.  42-45.  Destruction  of  Shechem.  The  story  of  the  general 
discontent  in  Shechem  was  begun  in  verses  22-25,  and  then 
broken  off  to  tell  of  the  previous  revolt  of  a  party  under  Gaal. 
It  is  taken  up  again  and  concluded  in  these  verses.  Having  been 
told  that  the  men  of  Shechem  were  practising  highway-robbery 
(like  barons  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe),  Abimelech  takes 
soldiers  and  puts  them  in  ambush  in  three  companies.  When 
many  of  the  Shechemites  have  gone  out  to  their  work  in  the 
fields  or  on   a   plundering  expedition,  one  company   rushes  the 


JUDGES  9.  44-49.     J  ici 

people,  and  divided  them  into  three  companies,  and  laid 
wait  in  the  field ;  and  he  looked,  and,  behold,  the  people 
came  forth  out  of  the  city ;  and  he  rose  up  against  them, 
and  smote  them.  And  Abimelech,  and  the  companies  44 
that  were  with  him,  rushed  forward,  and  stood  in  the 
entering  of  the  gate  of  the  city  :  and  the  two  companies 
rushed  upon  all  that  were  in  the  field,  and  smote  them. 
And  Abimelech  fought  against  the  city  all  that  day ;  and  45 
he  took  the  city,  and  slew  the  people  that  was  therein : 
and  he  beat  down  the  city,  and  sowed  it  with  salt. 

And  when  all  the  men  of  the  tower  of  Shechem  heard  46 
thereof,  they  entered  into  the  hold  of  the  house  of  El- 
berith.     And  it  was  told  Abimelech  that  all  the  men  of  47 
the  tower   of  Shechem  were  gathered   together.     And  48 
Abimelech  gat  him  up  to  mount  Zalmon,  he  and  all  the 
people  that  were  with  him ;  and  Abimelech  took  an  axe 
in  his  hand,  and  cut  down  a  bough  from  the  trees,  and 
took  it  up,  and  laid  it  on  his  shoulder  :  and  he  said  unto 
the  people  that  were  with  him,  What  ye  have  seen  me 
do,  make  haste,  and  do  as  I  have  done.     And  all  the  49 


gateway,  the  other  two  companies  attack  the  field-workers.     The 
battle  lasts  all  day  and  the  city  is  destroyed. 

44.  the  companies  that  were  with  him  should  be  '  the 
company  that  was  v/ith  him.' 

45.  sowed  it  with  salt:  a  figurative  expression  for  making 
utterly  desolate.  Cf.  Deut.  xxix.  23 ;  Jer.  xvii.  6,  &c.  Shechem 
was  a  flourishing  city  again  in  Solomon's  time  (r  Kings  xii.  1), 
but  it  is  no  longer  Canaanitish. 

ix.  46-49.  Destruction  of  the  temple  of  El-berith. 

46.  the  tower  of  Shechem  must  have  been  either  a  place 
outside  Shechem  or  a  fortified  part  of  the  city  which  held  out 
after  the  rest  was  destroyed.  In  it  was  the  temple  of  El-berith 
(or  Baal-berith,  as  in  some  Greek  MSS. ;  El  and  Baal  both  mean 
God).  What  part  of  this  building  the  'hold'  was  we  do  not  know, 
as  the  word  occurs  only  here  and  in  1  Sam.  xiii.  6.  It  was  clearly 
a  part  suited  for  defence. 

48.  mount  Zalmon  is  not  known. 

an  axe  :  marg.  'the  axes'  should  probably  be  read  '  his  axe.' 


102  JUDGES  9.  50-56.     J 

people  likewise  cut  down  every  man  his  bough,  and 
followed  Abimelech,  and  put  them  to  the  hold,  and  set 
the  hold  on  fire  upon  them ;  so  that  all  the  men  of  the 
tower  of  Shechem  died  also,  about  a  thousand  men  and 
women. 

50  Then   went   Abimelech   to   Thebez,   and    encamped 

51  against  Thebez,  and  took  it.  But  there  was  a  strong 
tower  within  the  city,  and  thither  fled  all  the  men  and 
women,  and  all  they  of  the  city,  and  shut  themselves  in, 

52  and  gat  them  up  to  the  roof  of  the  tower.  And  Abimelech 
came  unto  the  tower,  and  fought  against  it,  and  went  hard 

53  unto  the  door  of  the  tower  to  burn  it  with  fire.  And  a 
certain  woman  cast  an  upper  millstone  upon  Abimelech's 

54  head,  and  brake  his  skull.  Then  he  called  hastily  unto 
the  young  man  his  armourbearer,  and  said  unto  him, 
Draw  thy  sword,  and  kill  me,  that  men  say  not  of  me,  A 
woman   slew   him.     And    his   young   man    thrust   him 

55  through,  and  he  died.  And  when  the  men  of  Israel  saw 
that  Abimelech  was  dead,  they  departed  every  man  unto 

56  his  place.  Thus  God  requited  the  wickedness  of  Abime- 
lech, which  he  did  unto  his  father,  in  slaying  his  seventy 

ix.  50-55.  Siege  of  Thebez  and  death  of  Abimelech. 

50.  Thebez  is  placed  by  Eusebius  thirteen  miles  from  Shechem 
on  the  road  to  Beth-shean,  and  is  generally  identified  with  Tubas, 
which  is  situated  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  close  by  a  small  valley. 
The  discontent  with  Abimelech  was  not  confined  to  Shechem. 

53.  an  upper  millstone  would  be  a  circular  piece  of  hard 
stone,  a  few  inches  thick,  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter,  with  a  hole 
for  the  meal  and  a  handle  for  the  grinder. 

54.  his  armourbearer.  Leaders  usually  had  a  personal 
attendant  of  this  kind  ;  so  Jonathan,  1  Sam.  xiv.  6 ;  Saul,  1  Sam. 
xxxi.  4  ff.  ;  cf.  Judges  vii.  10  f. 

55.  the  men  of  Israel.  Israelites  would  naturally  be  the  chief 
supporters  of  Abimelech  against  Canaanitish  revolts.  The  short- 
lived kingdom  probably  came  to  an  cud  with  Abimelech's  death. 

56.  57.  The  moral  of  the  fate  of  Abimelech  and  Shechem  of 
the  same  tenor  as  verse  24. 


JUDGES  9.  57—10.  4.     J  103 

brethren  :  and  all  the  wickedness  of  the  men  of  Shechem  57 
did  God  requite  upon  their  heads  :  and  upon  them  came 
the  curse  of  Jotham  the  son  of  Jerubbaal. 

And  after  Abimelech  there  arose  to  save  Israel  Tola  10 
the  son  of  Puah,  the  son  of  Dodo,  a  man  of  Issachar ; 
and  he  dwelt  in  Shamir  in  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim. 
And  he  judged  Israel  twenty  and  three  years,  and  died,  2 
and  was  buried  in  Shamir. 

And  after  him  arose  Jair,  the  Gileadite ;  and  he  judged  3 
Israel  twenty  and  two  years.     And  he  had  thirty  sons  4 
that  rode  on  thirty  ass  colts,  and  they  had  thirty  cities, 
which  are  called  Havvoth-jair  unto  this  day,  which  are  in 

x.  1-2.     Tola. 

1.  Tola  and  Puah  appear  in  Gen.  xlvi.  13,  Num.  xxvi.  23,  and 
1  Chron.  vii.  i  ff.,  as  brother-clans  of  Issachar;  the  former  being 
distinguished  for  its  valour  and  the  number  of  its  members, 
according  to  the  passage  in  Chronicles. 

Dodo  is  translated  as  a  common  noun  by  the  Greek  and 
Latin  versions.  It  means  '  his  uncle,'  and  the  Latin  has  '  uncle 
of  Abimelech.'  This  cannot  be  correct,  as  Abimelech  was  of 
Manasseh,  and  Puah  of  Issachar.  The  name  Dodo  occurs  twice 
in  2  Sam.  xxiii.  9,  24  (cf.  1  Chron.  xi.  12,  26). 

Shamir  in  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim.  The  site  is  not 
known.  The  men  of  Issachar  seem  to  have  been  early  absorbed 
in  the  neighbouring  tribes  (see  vi.  35). 

x.  3-5-    Jair- 

3.  Jair  is  the  son  of  Manasseh  in  Num.  xxxii.  41  ;  Deut.  iii.  14  ; 
1  Kings  iv.  13  ;  but  of  mixed  Manassite  and  Judahite  descent  in 
1  Chron.  ii.  21-2.  Gilead,  according  to  Num  xxvi.  29 ff.,  &c.,was 
the  son  of  Machir  son  of  Manasseh  (cf.  v.  14).  The  land  of 
Gilead  refers  generally  in  the  O.T.  to  the  rich  and  hilly  country 
east  of  the  Jordan  inhabited  by  Israelites. 

4.  thirty  ass  colts.  The  possession  of  these  asses  is  a  sign  of 
wealth,  as  in  v.  10,  xii.  14. 

Hawoth-jair  :  i.  e. '  tent- villages  of  Jair,'  a  district  mentioned 
in  Num.  xxxii.  41  ;  Deut.  iii.  14  ;  Joshua  xiii.  30  (where  the  villages 
are  said  to  be  sixty  in  number),  and  1  Chron.  ii.  23  (cf.  verse  22, 
where  the  villages  are  twenty-three  in  number).  According  to 
the  Greek  version  there  were  thirty-two  sons,  thirty-two  asses, 
and  thirty-two  villages. 


io4  JUDGES  10.  5,6.     JD 

5  the  land  of  Gilead.  And  Jair  died,  and  was  buried  in 
Kamon. 

6  [D]  And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which 
was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  served  the  Baalim, 
and  the  Ashtaroth,  and  the  gods  of  Syria,  and  the  gods  of 
Zidon,  and  the  gods  of  Moab,  and  the  gods  of  the  chil- 

5.  The  site  of  Kamon  is  unknown. 

x.  6-i8.  Introduction  to  the  story  of  J ephthah.  The  Deuteronomic 
compiler's  introduction  to  the  story  of  Jephthah,  which  is  contained 
in  verses  6-8  and  continued  in  verses  17-18,  is  much  enlarged  by 
the  introduction  of  matter  (verses  9-16)  found  in  his  sources, 
with  two  or  three  short  additions  of  a  later  time.  The  substance  of 
the  whole  is  that  the  Israelites  (presumably  after  the  death  of 
Gideon)  again  forsook  Yahweh  and  served  other  gods.  Yahweh 
was  angry  and  delivered  them  into  the  power  of  the  Philistines 
(of  whom  we  hear  nothing  more  now)  and  of  the  Ammonites, 
who  oppressed  the  Hebrews  east  of  the  Jordan  for  eighteen  years. 
The  Ammonites  even  crossed  the  Jordan  and  raided  the  lands  of 
Judah,  Benjamin,  and  Ephraim.  As  usual  under  these  circum- 
stances the  Israelites  repented  of  their  faithlessness.  Yahweh 
reproached  them,  but  was  sorry  for  them  when  they  had  put 
away  the  strange  gods.  After  this  return  to  Yahweh  the 
Ammonites  were  camped  in  Gilead,  while  the  Gileadites  met  in 
Mizpah  and  took  counsel  as  to  who  could  lead  them  against  the 
enemy.      This  naturally  introduces  Jephthah  in  the  next  chapter. 

x.  6-9.  The  constantly  recurring  Deuteronomic  formula  (see 
Introd.),  with  the  names  of  gods,  enemies,  and  part  of  the  Hebrew 
people  oppressed  on  this  occasion. 

6.  For  the  Baalim  see  ii.  11  ;  for  the  Ashtaroth  see  ii.  13. 
the  gods  of  Syria  (or  'Aram)  :  i.  e.  of  the  country  north  of 

Palestine  from  Phoenicia  to  the  Euphrates,  Damascus  being  the 
best  known  city  in  it.  The  chief  gods  of  this  land  were  Haddad 
and  Ramman  (called  Rimmon  in  the  O.  T.)  and  a  goddess 
'Athar. 

the  gods  of  Zidon  :  i.e.  of  Phoenicia,  the  name  of  the  chief 
town  being  put  for  the  whole,  as  in  Homer.  Phoenician  worship 
was  akin  to  Syrian.  The  names  of  many  of  their  gods  are  found 
in  the  inscriptions  discovered  in  the  country,  and  in  the  Phoenician 
settlement  of  Carthage.  The  worship  of  their  gods  was  introduced 
into  Israel  again  at  the  time  of  Jezebel. 

the  gods  of  Moab.  Chemosh  was  the  chief  (1  Kings  xi. 
33,  &c,  and  in  the  inscription  on  the  Moabite  Stone  of  the 
ninth  century  B.  c). 


JUDGES  10.  7-9.     D  105 

dren  of  Amnion,  and  the  gods  of  the  Philistines  j   and 
they  forsook  the  Lord,  and  served  him  not.     And  the  7 
anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Israel,  and  he  sold 
them  into  the  hand  of  the  Philistines,  and  into  the  hand 
of  the  children  of  Ammon.     And  they  vexed  and  op-  8 
pressed  the  children  of  Israel  that  year;  eighteen  years 
oppressed  they  all  the  children  of  Israel  that  were  beyond 
Jordan  in  the  land  of  the  Amorites,  which  is  in  Gilead. 
And  the  children  of  Ammon  passed  over  Jordan  to  fight  9 
also  against  Judah,  and  against  Benjamin,  and  against  the 
house  of  Ephraim ;   so  that  Israel  was  sore  distressed. 

the  gods  of  the  children  of  Amnion,  among  whom  was 
Molech  (1  Kings  xi.  7,  33  ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  10,  &c). 

the  gods  of  the  Philistines.  These,  such  as  Dagon  and 
Baal-zebub,  were  Canaanitish  deities  adopted  by  the  Philistines 
when  they  settled  in  the  land.  All  the  above  were  varying 
forms  of  nature- worship. 

*7.     Philistines.     See  xiii;  1. 

the  children  of  Amnion,  or  Ammonites,  formerly  possessed 
the  land  east  of  the  Jordan  between  the  Anion  and  Jabbok,  but 
had  been  driven  further  eastward  by  Amorites,  just  before  the 
Hebrews  came  on  the  scene.  The  Amorites  were  at  any  rate 
partially  dispossessed  in  turn  by  two  Hebrew  tribes,  but  the 
Ammonites  still  claimed  this  land  as  theirs  (see  xi.  13  ft*.).  In 
Gen.  xix.  38  they  are  allowed  to  be  akin  to  the  Hebrews. 

8.  The  first  half  of  the  verse  reads,  '  And  they  crushed  and 
oppressed  the  children  of  Israel  in  that  year,  eighteen  years,' 
where  the  first  indication  of  time  '  in  that  year '  was  in  the 
earlier  book,  and  the  '  eighteen  years '  is  the  Deuteronomist's 
usual  indication  of  the  length  of  the  period  of  oppression.  Through 
some  fault  in  the  text  the  two  are  now  placed  without  sense 
together. 

in  the  land  of  the  Amorites,  which  is  in  Gilead :  i.  e.  in 
the  disputed  territory  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note. 

9.  Not  only  did  the  Ammonites  trouble  the  Hebrews  who  had 
settled  in  their  old  territory  between  the  Anion  and  Jabbok,  but 
they  crossed  the  Jordan  and  raided  Central  Palestine,  the  hill- 
country  of  Ephraim  including  the  land  of  Benjamin,  and  the 
north  of  Judah.  They  would  thus  follow  very  much  the  same 
route  as  the  Moabites  in  iii.  12  ff.,  but  pushed  further  into  the 
country. 


106  JUDGES  10.  10-17.     D 

10  And  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord,  saying, 
We  have  sinned  against  thee,  even  because  we  have  for- 

11  saken  our  God,  and  have  served  the  Baalim.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  Did  not  /  save  you 
from  the  Egyptians,  and  from  the  Amorites,  from  the  chil- 

1 2  dren  of  Ammon,  and  from  the  Philistines  ?  The  Zidonians 
also,  and  the  Amalekites,  and  the  Maonites,  did  oppress 
you ;  and  ye  cried  unto  me,  and  I  saved  you  out  of  their 

13  hand.     Yet  ye  have  forsaken  me,  and  served  other  gods  : 

14  wherefore  I  will  save  you  no  more.  Go  and  cry  unto  the 
gods  which  ye  have  chosen;  let  them  save  you  in  the 

15  time  of  your  distress.  And  the  children  of  Israel  said 
unto  the  Lord,  We  have  sinned :  do  thou  unto  us  what- 
soever seemeth  good  unto  thee ;  only  deliver  us,  we  pray 

16  thee,  this  day.  And  they  put  away  the  strange  gods  from 
among  them,  and  served  the  Lord:  and  his  soul  was 
grieved  for  the  misery  of  Israel. 

1 7  Then  the  children  of  Ammon  were  gathered  together, 
and  encamped  in  Gilead.     And  the  children  of  Israel 

11,  12.  The  latter  part  of  verse  ir  lacks  a  verb  in  the  Hebrew. 
We  may  either  adopt  the  words  in  italics  in  the  English  version, 
or  with  the  Greek,  Latin,  and  Syriac  translators  make  all  the 
proper  names  subjects  of  the  verb  '  did  oppress  \  in  verse  12. 

There  are  seven  nations  mentioned  here,  as  there  are  seven  sets 
of  strange  gods  in  verse  6,  but  the  lists  are  not  of  the  same 
peoples. 

the  Philistines.  No  Philistine  oppression  has  been  men- 
tioned in  our  book  (unless  it  is  indicated  in  the  story  of  Shamgar, 
iii.  31),  but  the  Samson  stories  may  have  come  before  Jephthah's 
in  the  source  from  which  this  is  taken ;  otherwise  it  is  a  late  and 
mistaken  addition. 

the  children  of  Amnion  must  have  been  added  later,  as  the 
Hebrews  had  not  yet  been  delivered  from  them.  Of  an  oppression 
by  the  Zidonians  we  have  no  account  at  all.  The  Maonites  do 
not  appear  in  Hebrew  history  until  much  later  (1  Chron.  iv.  41  ; 
2  Chron.  xx.  1),  and  probably  the  Greek  translation  is  right  in 
reading  '  Midianites  '  (see  the  story  of  Gideon). 

1*1,  18.     These  two  verses  seem  to  be  intended  by  the  editor  to 


JUDGES  10.  18—II.  4.     J  107 

assembled  themselves  together,  and  encamped  in  Mizpah. 
And  the  people,  the  princes  of  Gilead,  said  one  to  an-  18 
other,  What  man  is  he  that  will  begin  to  fight  against  the 
children  of  Ammon?  he  shall  be  head  over  all  the  in- 
habitants of  Gilead. 

[J]  Now  Jephthah  the  Gileadite  was  a  mighty  man  of  11 
valour,  and  he  was  the  son  of  an  harlot :   and  Gilead 
begat  Jephthah.     And  Gilead's  wife  bare  him  sons ;  and  2 
when  his  wife's  sons  grew  up,  they  drave  out  Jephthah, 
and  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  not  inherit  in  our  father's 
house ;  for  thou  art  the  son  of  another  woman.     Then  3 
Jephthah  fled  from  his  brethren,  and  dwelt  in  the  land 
of  Tob  :  and  there  were  gathered  vain  fellows  to  Jephthah, 
and  they  went  out  with  him. 

And  it  came  to  pass  after  a  while,  that  the  children  of  4 

be  an  introduction  to  the  story  of  Jephthah.     The  material  of  them 
is  all  contained  in  the  next  chapter. 

xi.  1 — xii.  7.     Jephthah. 

xi.  1-3.  The  early  years  of  Jephthah.  Jephthah  was  a  Gileadite 
because  he  lived  in  the  land  of  Gilead,  but  as  the  son  of  a  harlot 
(not  of  a  legitimate  concubine)  he  had  no  legal  standing  in  a  tribe. 
The  words  from  '  and  Gilead  begat  Jephthah '  to  the  end  of  verse  2 
do  not  belong  to  the  original  story,  for  Gilead  was  properly  the 
name  of  a  land,  and  is  treated  as  the  name  of  a  person  only 
in  late  writings  (P  and  Chron.),  and  the  word  used  for  l  begat' 
belongs  to  the  language  of  this  later  time. 

3.  Jephthah  fled  (cf.  verse  7)  .  .  .  and  dwelt  in  the  land  of 
Tob.  Men  of  Tob  are  employed  by  the  Ammonites  against  David 
(2  Sam.  x.  6,  8).  There  was  a  slaughter  of  Jews  in  the  land  of 
Tubias  (probably  the  same  as  Tob)  in  the  time  of  Judas  Maccabaeus 
(1  Mace.  v.  13),  and  certain  Jews  are  called  Tubieni  (men  of  Tob) 
in  2  Mace.  xii.  17,  but  all  we  can  gather  from  these  passages  is 
that  Tob  was  somewhere  near  Gilead. 

vain  fellows.     See  ix.  4. 

they  went  out  with  him,  that  is,  on  raiding  expeditions. 

xi.  4-1 1.     Jephthah  chosen  to  lead  the  Gilcadites. 

4.  The  Ammonites,  who  according  to  x.  17  were  encamped  in 


io8  JUDGES  11.  5-10.     J 

5  Ammon  made  war  against  Israel.  And  it  was  so,  that 
when  the  children  of  Ammon  made  war  against  Israel, 
the  elders  of  Gilead  went  to  fetch  Jephthah  out  of  the 

6  land  of  Tob  :  and  they  said  unto  Jephthah,  Come  and  be 
our  chief,  that  we  may  fight  with  the  children  of  Ammon. 

7  And  Jephthah  said  unto  the  elders  of  Gilead,  Did  not  ye 
hate  me,  and  drive  me  out  of  my  father's  house?  and 
why  are  ye  come  unto  me  now  when  ye  are  in  distress  ? 

8  And  the  elders  of  Gilead  said  unto  Jephthah,  Therefore 
are  we  turned  again  to  thee  now,  that  thou  mayest  go  with 
us,  and  fight  with  the  children  of  Ammon,  and  thou  shalt 

9  be  our  head  over  all  the  inhabitants  of  Gilead.  And 
Jephthah  said  unto  the  elders  of  Gilead,  If  ye  bring  me 
home  again  to  fight  with  the  children  of  Ammon,  and  the 

io  Lord  deliver  them  before  me,  shall  I  be  your  head?  And 
the  elders  of  Gilead  said  unto  Jephthah,  The  Lord  shall 
be  witness  between  us ;  surely  according  to  thy  word  so 

Gilead,  now  began  to  be  active,  that  is,  began  making  raids  on  the 
Hebrew  towns  and  villages. 

5.  In  consequence  of  this  activity  the  Hebrew  elders  were 
compelled  to  hasten  in  the  selection  of  a  leader.  The  pressing 
need  overcame  any  scruples  that  had  been  felt  about  the  great 
fighter  Jephthah,  whom  they  had  driven  away  themselves  from 
his  country,  and  they  went  to  the  land  of  Tob  to  secure  his 
services. 

6.  The  invitation  at  first  was  apparently  only  to  the  leadership 
in  this  war.  They  wished  to  hire  him  as  they  would  any  other 
mercenary. 

7.  But  Jephthah  still  smarted  under  the  condition  of  exile  in 
which  he  lived.  He  was  married  and  had  a  daughter,  and  did  not 
wish  to  serve  Gilead  and  return  to  banishment. 

8.  The  elders  understood  his  feelings,  and  repeated  their  wish 
that  he  should  lead  them  in  war,  and  promised  him  the  headship 
over  Gilead. 

9.  Jephthah  would  have  no  ambiguity,  but  stated  the  conditions 
clearly — he  is  to  be  and  remain  head  of  Gilead  after  he  has  re- 
established peace. 

10.  These  terms  are  accepted  by  the  elders,  and  (verse  n)  after- 
wards confirmed  by  the  people  when  Jephthah  comes  before  them. 


JUDGES  11.  n-13.     J  109 

will  we  do.     Then  Jephthah  went  with  the  elders  of  n 
Gilead,  and  the  people  made  him  head  and  chief  over 
them  :    and   Jephthah   spake  all   his  words  before  the 
Lord  in  Mizpah. 

And  Jephthah  sent  messengers  unto  the  king  of  the  12 
children  of  Amnion,  saying,  What  hast  thou  to  do  with 
me,  that  thou  art  come  unto  me  to  fight  against  my  land  ? 
And  the  king  of  the  children  of  Ammon  answered  unto  13 
the  messengers  of  Jephthah,  Because  Israel  took  away 
my  land,  when  he  came  up  out  of  Egypt,  from  Arnon 
even   unto   Jabbok,  and   unto   Jordan :    now  therefore 

xi.  12-28.  Jephthah' s  correspondence  with  the  king  of  the 
Ammonites.  Before  beginning  actual  warfare  Jephthah  makes 
clear  his  new  position  as  head  of  the  Gileadites  (as  distinct  from 
that  of  merely  a  leader  in  war)  by  exchanging  messages — as  one 
king  with  another—with  the  Ammonite  king.  <  What  hast  thou 
to  do  with  me,  that  thou  art  come  unto  me  to  fight  against  my 
land  ? '  The  reply  of  the  Ammonite  king  is  that  when  the 
Hebrews  came  up  from  Egypt  they  seized  his  territory  between 
Arnon,  Jabbok,  and  Jordan,  and  that  he  claims  its  restoration.  To 
this  Jephthah  replies  that  the  Hebrews  took  no  land  of  Moab  or 
Ammon  ;  that  even  when  prevented  from  traversing  Edomite 
territory  they  did  not  attack  the  Edomites,  but  made  a  wide 
detour  to  the  east  until  they  came  north  of  the  Arnon  ;  that  north 
of  the  Arnon  they  found  Amorites  who  refused  them  a  passage, 
and  whom  therefore  they  fought  and  overcame.  It  was  the 
territory  of  these  Amorites  that  the  Hebrews  took  possession 
of.  Jephthah  further  bids  the  Ammonite  be  satisfied  with  what 
Chemosh  his  god  has  given  him,  and  not  interfere  with  what 
Yahweh  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  has  done  for  His  people.  Is  he 
better  than  Balak,  king  of  Moab,  who  did  not  dare  to  fight  against 
the  Hebrews?  Why  too  have  the  Ammonites  waited  these 
three  hundred  years,  since  the  Hebrew  conquest,  before  claiming 
this  territory  as  theirs  ?  Therefore — he  sums  up  in  saying — you 
are  in  the  wrong,  and  Yahweh  shall  judge  the  matter  between  us. 

The  Ammonite  king  refused  to  pay  attention  to  Jephthah's 
arguments. 

13.  The  land  in  dispute  was  the  low  hill-country  and  moorland 
north  of  the  Arnon,  and  extending  to  the  Jabbok.  The  Arnon 
(now  Wadi  el-Mujib)  flows  from  east  to  west  through  a  ravine, 
which  in  places  is  1,700  feet  deep  and  two  miles  wide,  into  the 


no  JUDGES  11.  14-17.     J 

14  restore  those  lands  again  peaceably.     And  Jephthah  sent 
messengers  again  unto  the  king  of  the  children  of  Am- 
is mon :  and  he  said  unto  him,  Thus  saith  Jephthah:  Is- 
rael took  not  away  the  land  of  Moab,  nor  the  land  of  the 

16  children  of  Amnion  :  but  when  they  came  up  from  Egypt, 
and  Israel  walked  through  the  wilderness  unto  the  Red 

1 7  Sea,  and  came  to  Kadesh ;  then  Israel  sent  messengers 

Dead  Sea.  The  Jabbok  (now  Nahr  ez-Zerka)  flows  into  the 
Jordan  about  forty-five  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Arnon. 
After  the  conquest  of  this  district  by  the  Hebrews  it  was  allotted 
to  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad.  Two  varying  accounts  of  the 
parts  occupied  by  them  are  given  in  Num.  xxxii.  34  ff.  (E)  and 
Joshua  xiii.  15  ff.  (P).  Both  these  tribes  must  have  had  a  pre- 
carious existence  owing  to  the  constant  attacks  of  Moabites. 
Reuben  seems  to  have  succumbed,  and  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
inscription  on  the  Moabite  Stone  (ninth  century). 

xi.  14-22.  Jephthah' s  summary  of  the  dealings  of  the  Hebrews 
with  the  Moabites  when  they  came  up  from  Egypt. 

It  is  strange  to  find  here  that  in  an  argument  with  Ammonites 
all  this  historic  recapitulation  is  concerning  Moab.  This  is, 
however,  in  accordance  with  the  narratives  in  Deut.  ii  and  Num. 
xx,  xxi,  where  Moab  formerly  occupied  the  land  between  Arnon, 
Jabbok,  and  Jordan,  which  however  had  been  taken  from  them 
by  the  Amorites,  from  whom  the  Hebrews  took  it,  allotting  it  to 
Reuben  and  Gad.  The  Ammonites  occupied  the  country  between 
the  upper  Arnon  and  upper  Jabbok  to  the  east  of  this  land 
(Deut.  ii.  19 ;  Num.  xxi.  24).  They  were  closely  related  to  the 
Moabites  according  to  Hebrew  tradition  (Gen.  xix.  37,  38,  J).  It 
is  probable  that  the  author  who  collected  the  traditions  of  Jephthah, 
finding  in  them  that  the  Ammonites  claimed  this  district,  but 
knowing  of  no  history  to  support  such  a  claim,  inserted  the 
account  of  their  brother-people  Moab,  thus  implying  that  they 
were  practically  one  people. 

The  account  in  these  verses  is  abridged  from  the  source  which 
is  used  and  expanded  in  Num.  xx,  xxi,  and  in  part  preserves  the 
same  phrases.  Compare  with  verse  17,  Num.  xx.  1,  14,  17,  21  ; 
with  verse  18,  Num.  xxi.  4,  ir,  13  ;  with  verse  19,  Num.  xxi.  21, 
22  ;  with  verses  20-22,  Num.  xxi.  23,  24. 

(For  the  account  in  Deut.  ii,  see  the  commentaries  on  that  book.") 

16.  Kadesli,  often  called  Kadesh-barnea,  now  called  'Ain- 
Kadis,  is  in  the  Negeb  about  fifty  miles  south  of  Beer-sheba. 
According  to  early  tradition  (JE  in  Numbers),  it  was  the  centre 


JUDGES  11.  18-23.     J  in 

unto  the  king  of  Edom,  saying,  Let  me,  I  pray  thee,  pass 
through  thy  land :  but  the  king  of  Edom  hearkened  not. 
And  in  like  manner  he  sent  unto  the  king  of  Moab  :  but 
he  would  not:  and  Israel  abode  in  Kadesh.     Then  he  18 
walked  through  the  wilderness,  and  compassed  the  land 
of  Edom,  and  the  land  of  Moab,  and  came  by  the  east 
side  of  the  land  of  Moab,  and  they  pitched  on  the  other 
side  of  Arnon ;  but  they  came  not  within  the  border  of 
Moab,  for  Arnon  was  the  border  of  Moab.     And  Israel  19 
sent  messengers  unto  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites,  the 
king  of  Heshbon ;  and  Israel  said  unto  him,  Let  us  pass, 
we  pray  thee,  through  thy  land  unto  my  place.     But  Sihon  20 
trusted  not  Israel  to  pass  through  his  border :  but  Sihon 
gathered  all  his  people  together,  and  pitched  in  Jahaz, 
and  fought  against  Israel.     And  the  Lord,  the  God  of  21 
Israel,  delivered  Sihon  and  all  his  people  into  the  hand 
of  Israel,  and  they  smote  them :  so  Israel  possessed  all 
the  land  of  the  Amorites,  the  inhabitants  of  that  country. 
And  they  possessed  all  the  border  of  the  Amorites,  from  22 
Arnon  even  unto  Jabbok,  and  from  the  wilderness  even 
unto  Jordan.     So  now  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  hath  23 
dispossessed  the  Amorites  from  before  his  people  Israel, 

of  Hebrew  life  during  the  forty  years  in  the  desert  (but  compare 
Deut.  ii.  14). 

17  ff.  The  Hebrews  journeyed  to  the  east  of  Edom  (see  v.  4^ 
and  of  Moab ;  then  crossed  the  upper  Arnon  and  invaded  and 
conquered  the  Amorite  country  between  the  Ammonites  on  the 
east  and  the  Jordan  on  the  west. 

19.  Heshbon,  now  Hesban,  about  sixteen  miles  east  of  the 
Jordan,  and  about  twelve  southwards  from  'Amman. 

20.  Jahaz  (Num.  xxi.  23  ;  Deut.  ii.  32)  is  mentioned  several 
times  in  the  O.  T.,  but  its  position  is  unknown. 

22.  the  wilderness  is  mentioned  as  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  Hebrew  conquest,  but  the  Ammonites  were  on  the  eastern 
boundary  (see  above),  so  that  they  are  conceived  of  as  •living-  in 
the  desert,  or  are  ignored  here. 

23,  24.     Yahweh  has  given  us  this  land,  Chemosh  has  given 


ii2  JUDGES  11.  24-29.     J 

24  and  shouldest  thou  possess  them  ?  Wilt  not  thou  possess 
that  which  Chemosh  thy  god  giveth  thee  to  possess  ?  So 
whomsoever  the  Lord  our  God  hath  dispossessed  from 

25  before  us,  them  will  we  possess.  And  now  art  thou  any 
thing  better  than  Balak  the  son  of  Zippor,  king  of  Moab  ? 
did  he  ever  strive  against  Israel,  or  did  he  ever  fight 

26  against  them?  While  Israel  dwelt  in  Heshbon  and  her 
towns,  and  in  Aroer  and  her  towns,  and  in  all  the  cities 
that  are  along  by  the  side  of  Arnon,  three  hundred  years  ; 
wherefore  did  ye  not  recover  them  within  that  time? 

27  I  therefore  have  not  sinned  against  thee,  but  thou  doest 
me  wrong  to  war  against  me :  the  Lord,  the  Judge,  be 
judge  this  day  between  the  children  of  Israel  and  the 

28  children  of  Ammon.  Howbeit  the  king  of  the  children 
of  Ammon  hearkened  not  unto  the  words  of  Jephthah 
which  he  sent  him. 

29  Then  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  Jephthah,  and 
he  passed  over  Gilead  and  Manasseh,  and  passed  over 
Mizpeh  of  Gilead,  and  from  Mizpeh  of  Gilead  he  passed 

you  (i.  e.  Moab,  for  Chemosh  was  Moab's  god)  what  you  possess. 
Do  not  interfere  with  what  the  gods  have  arranged. 

25.  The  story  of  Balak  ben  Zippor  is  given  in   Num.   xxii. 
2  ff.  (E). 

26.  Heshbon  and  her  towns :  i.  e.  and  the  villages  governed 
from  Heshbon  (see  verse  19). 

Aroer,  now  'Arair,  on  the  edge  of  the  northern  bank  of  the 
ravine  of  the  Arnon. 

"by  the  side  of  Arnon.  The  Greek  version  has  '  Jordan  ■ 
instead  of  'Arnon.' 

three  hundred  years.  The  sum  of  the  years  mentioned  in 
the  chronology  of  this  book  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  Ammonite 
oppression  is  three  hundred  and  one  3'ears. 

xi.  29-33.  Jephthah' s  campaign  against  the  Ammonites. 
29.  the  spirit  of  the  LORD.  See  iii.  10.  The  ratification 
of  Jephthah's  appointment  as  'head  and  chief  by  the  people 
must  have  taken  place  at  Mizpah.  As  the  mention  of  this  event 
in  verse  11  anticipated  his  journey  from  the  land  of  Tob  through 
Gilead  and  Manasseh  to   Mizpah   in   this  verse,  the   author  has 


JUDGES  11.  30-33.     J  113 

over  unto  the  children  of  Amnion.    And  Jephthah  vowed  3° 
a  vow  unto  the  Lord,  and  said,  If  thou  wilt  indeed  deliver 
the  children  of  Amnion  into  mine  hand,  then  it  shall  be,  3 1 
that  whatsoever  cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my  house  to 
meet  me,  when  I  return  in  peace  from  the  children  of 
Amnion,  it  shall  be  the  Lord's,  and  I  will  offer  it  up  for 
a  burnt  offering.     So  Jephthah  passed  over  unto  the  chil-  32 
dren  of  Ammon  to  fight  against  them ;  and  the  Lord  de- 
livered them  into  his  hand.     And  he  smote  them  from  33 
Aroer  until  thou  come  to  Minnith,  even  twenty  cities, 
and  unto  Abel-cheramim,  with  a  very  great  slaughter. 
So  the  children  of  Ammon  were  subdued  before  the 
children  of  Israel. 

apparently  removed  the  words  '  and  Jephthah  spake  all  his  words 
before  the  Lord  in  Mizpah  '  from  the  end  of  verse  31,  where  they 
naturally  belong  to  verse  11.  The  course  of  events  would  thus 
be  :  Jephthah,  having  been  appointed  head  by  the  elders  in  the 
land  of  Tob  (verses  5-10),  came  down  to  Gilead  and  Manasseh 
and  to  Mizpeh  of  Gilead,  where  his  appointment  was  ratified  by 
the  people  (verse  n),  and  he  vowed  his  vow  before  Yahweh 
(verses  30,  31  and  nb),  then  from  Mizpeh  he  went  to  the 
Ammonites  (verse  29°). 

30.  Jephthah  vowed  a  vow.  Other  vows  mentioned  in  the 
O.  T.  are  those  of  Jacob  (Gen.  xxviii.  20  fF.),  Hannah  (1  Sam. 
i.  11),  Absalom  (2  Sam.  xv.  8). 

31.  whatsoever  must  be  read  as  in  the  margin,  'whosoever.' 
A  human  sacrifice  is  evidently  intended. 

33.  Aroer.  The  best-known  place  of  this  name  is  the  Aroer 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  Arnon  ravine.  This  is  not  suitable  here, 
and  it  is  more  probably  the  '  Aroer  that  is  before  Rabbah  '  of 
Joshua  xiii.  25  (i.e.  east  of  the  present  Amman). 

Minnith,  according  to  Eusebius,  was  a  site  four  miles  from 
Heshbon  on  the  road  to  the  present  Amman,  but  this  position 
does  not  seem  suitable  here.  Various  other  names  are  given  in 
the  Greek  version  here. 

even  twenty  cities — awkward  grammatically.  It  may  indi- 
cate the  number  of  cities  conquered  by  Jephthah,  or  the  number 
of  cities  between  Aroer  and  Minnith. 

Abel-cheramim  ('  a  meadow  of  vineyards ')  is  unknown. 
Eusebius  says  it  was  six  miles  from  Amman,  but  mentions  two 
other  places  of  similar  name. 


H4  JUDGES  11.  34-37-     J 

34  And  Jephthah  came  to  Mizpah  unto  his  house,  and, 
behold,  his  daughter  came  out  to  meet  him  with  timbrels 
and  with  dances  :  and  she  was  his  only  child ;  beside  her 

35  he  had  neither  son  nor  daughter.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  he  saw  her,  that  he  rent  his  clothes,  and  said,  Alas, 
my  daughter !  thou  hast  brought  me  very  low,  and  thou 
art  one  of  them  that  trouble  me :  for  I  have  opened  my 

36  mouth  unto  the  Lord,  and  I  cannot  go  back.  And  she 
said  unto  him,  My  father,  thou  hast  opened  thy  mouth 
unto  the  Lord  ;  do  unto  me  according  to  that  which  hath 
proceeded  out  of  thy  mouth  •  forasmuch  as  the  Lord  hath 
taken  vengeance  for  thee  of  thine  enemies,  even  of  the 

37  children  of  Ammon.  And  she  said  unto  her  father,  Let 
this  thing  be  done  for  me  :  let  me  alone  two  months,  that 

xi.     34-40.     The  sacrifice  of  Jephthah 's  daughter. 

34.  with  timbrels  and  with  dances,  i.  e.  dancing  to  the 
accompaniment  of  small  drums,  or  tambourines,  played  by  women 
who  were  with  her.  The  custom  of  women  celebrating  victories 
by  dances  is  mentioned  in  Exod.  xv.  20  (Miriam)  and  in  1  Sam. 
xviii.  6  f.  (the  women  who  met  Saul). 

35.  he  rent  his  clothes :  a  usual  custom  among  the  Hebrews 
for  expressing  grief,  and  still  done  in  the  East  (cf.  Gen.  xxxvii.  29  ; 
2  Sam.  xiii.  19,  &c). 

The  Hebrew  of  the  latter  part  of  this  verse  is  stronger  than  the 
English.  It  means,  '  Thou  hast  bowed  me  down  (taken  the 
strength  from  my  limbs,  so  that  I  sink  to  the  ground  as  in 
v.  27),  and  thou  (emphatic)  art  among  those  who  trouble  me.' 
Jephthah  seems  to  think  of  those  who  had  troubled  him  in  the 
past — his  father's  sons  (verse  2),  the  elders  of  Gilead  (verse  7), 
and  probably  his  own  restless  followers  (verse  3).  Now  he  has 
come  back  to  his  own  land  in  honour,  to  live  in  peace  with  his 
only  child  (note  how  this  is  emphasized  in  verse  34),  and  she  is 
now  the  cause  (innocently  enough)  of  his  greatest  grief. 

I  cannot  gfo  hack.     The  vow  had  been   too   solemn,    the 
answer  too  striking. 

36.  She  knew  her  father's  grief  was  for  some  hard  fate  for 
herself,  whether  someone  told  her  what  it  was  or  not.  The 
answer  is  one  of  noble  resignation  with  joyful  triumph. 

37.  38,  One  favour  only  Jephthah's  daughter  asks  and  obtains 
—that  on  the  mountains  with  her  companions  she  may  mourn 


JUDGES  11.  38—12.  if    J  115 

I  may  depart  and  go  down  upon  the  mountains,  and  be- 
wail my  virginity,  I  and  my  companions.    And  he  said,  Go.  3$ 
And  he  sent  her  away  for  two  months  :  and  she  departed, 
she  and  her  companions,  and  bewailed  her  virginity  upon 
the  mountains.     And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end  of  two  39 
months,  that  she  returned  unto  her  father,  who  did  with 
her  according  to  his  vow  which  he  had  vowed  :  and  she 
had  not  known  man.     And  it  was  a  custom  in  Israel, 
that  the  daughters  of  Israel  went  yearly  to  celebrate  the  4° 
daughter  of  Jephthah  the  Gileadite  four  days  in  a  year. 

And  the  men  of  Ephraim  were  gathered  together,  and  12 
passed  northward ;  and  they  said  unto  Jephthah,  Where- 
fore passedst  thou  over  to  fight  against  the  children  of 
Ammon,  and  didst  not  call  us  to  go  with  thee  ?  we  will 

that  she  is  to  be  cut  off  by  death  from  the  hope,  so  strong  among 
Hebrew  women,  of  having  children. 

39.  Unlike  the  Greek  tragedian  (Aeschylus  in  the  Agamem- 
non, describing  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigenia),  the  Hebrew  writer 
draws  a  veil  over  the  final  act,  only  lamenting  again  that  she  died, 
and  with  her  passed  away  the  hope  of  continuing  the  family. 

40.  the  daughters  of  Israel,  i.  e.  probably  of  Gilead.  Like 
other  local  customs  this  probably  passed  away  as  time  deprived 
it  of  its  meaning. 

xii.  i-6.  Gilead  against  Ephraim.  Again,  as  after  Gideon's 
success  (viii.  1-3),  the  Ephraimites  feel  that  their  superiority  has 
been  attacked  by  the  fact  that  a  member  of  another  tribe  should 
have  taken  upon  himself  the  punishment  of  invaders  without  con- 
sulting them.  They  threaten  to  burn  his  house  over  his  head. 
Gideon  was  a  quiet  man,  and  had  made  peace  with  them  by  politic 
speech.  Jephthah  was  a  man  of  fighting  by  profession,  and  his 
spirit  was  in  bitterness  over  the  destruction  of  his  happiness  by  the 
imminent  or  recent  loss  of  his  only  child.  He  answers  them  with 
fierce  but  true  words,  gathers  round  him  men  of  Gilead  who  had 
suffered  from  the  taunts  of  Ephraimites  before,  and  inflicts  a 
heavy  punishment  on  the  Ephraimites  who  had  ventured  to  cross 
the  Jordan. 

1.  northward,  i.  e.  to  the  fords  of  the  Jordan,  south  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  or  to  Zaphon,  as  in  margin.  Zaphon  in  Joshua  xiii.  27 
is  in  the  territory  of  Gad,  probably  between  Succoth  and  the  Sea 
of  Galilee. 

I    2 


n6  JUDGES  12.  2-6.     J 

a  burn  thine  house  upon  thee  with  fire.  And  Jephthah 
said  unto  them,  I  and  my  people  were  at  great  strife  with 
the  children  of  Amnion  ;  and  when  I  called  you,  ye  saved 

3  me  not  out  of  their  hand.  And  when  I  saw  that  ye  saved 
me  not,  I  put  my  life  in  my  hand,  and  passed  over  against 
the  children  of  Amnion,  and  the  Lord  delivered  them 
into  my  hand :  wherefore  then  are  ye  come  up  unto  me 

4  this  day,  to  fight  against  me  ?  Then  Jephthah  gathered 
together  all  the  men  of  Gilead,  and  fought  with  Ephraim  : 
and  the  men  of  Gilead  smote  Ephraim,  because  they  said, 
Ye  are  fugitives  of  Ephraim,  ye  Gileadites,  in  the  midst 

5  of  Ephraim,  and  in  the  midst  of  Manasseh.  And  the 
Gileadites  took  the  fords  of  Jordan  against  the  Ephraim- 
ites :  and  it  was  so,  that  when  any  of  the  fugitives  of 
Ephraim  said,  Let  me  go  over,  the  men  of  Gilead  said  unto 

6  him,  Art  thou  an  Ephraimite?  If  he  said,  Nay;  then  said 
they  unto  him,  Say  now  Shibboleth;  and  he  said  Sib- 
boleth ;  for  he  could  not  frame  to  pronounce  it  right ; 
then  they  laid  hold  on  him,  and  slew  him  at  the  fords 
of  Jordan :  and  there  fell  at  that  time  of  Ephraim  forty 
and  two  thousand. 

2.  I  called  you.  This  was  not  mentioned  in  the  previous 
accounts. 

4.  We  cannot  tell  how  soon  these  events  occurred  after 
Jephthah's  victory  over  the  Ammonites.  The  Gileadites,  who 
dispersed  after  the  battles,  were  easily  gathered  again.  The 
latter  part  of  this  verse  is  quite  unintelligible  to  us.  The  Gilead- 
ites, according  to  the  genealogies,  are  a  branch  of  Manasseh,  and 
cannot  be  <  fugitives  of  Ephraim.'  Either  the  words  are  in  the 
wrong  place  here  or  the  text  is  corrupt.  The  whole  passage  is 
omitted  in  some  Greek  MSS. 

5,  6.  the  fords,  &c,  see  iii.  28.  There  were  already  differences 
of  pronunciation  among  the  Hebrew  tribes.  The  Ephraimite 
pronounced  sh  as  s,  so  that  his  manner  of  pronouncing  the  word 
Shibboleth  (which  means  '  an  ear  of  corn*)  betrayed  him. 

Although  the  slaughter  extended  probably  over  a  considerable 
time,  the  numbers  must  be,  as  usual;  greatly  exaggerated. 


JUDGES  12.  7-13.     J  117 

And  Jephthah   judged  Israel  six  years.     Then  died    7 
Jephthah  the  Gileadite,  and  was  buried  in  o?ie  of  the 
cities  of  Gilead. 

And  after  him  Ibzan  of  Bethlehem   judged  Israel.   8 
And  he  had  thirty  sons,  and  thirty  daughters  he  sent    9 
abroad,  and  thirty  daughters  he  brought  in  from  abroad 
for  his  sons.     And  he  judged  Israel  seven  years.     And  to 
Ibzan  died,  and  was  buried  at  Beth-lehem. 

And  after  him  Elon  the  Zebulunite  judged  Israel ;  and  n 
he  judged  Israel  ten  years.  And  Elon  the  Zebulunite  12 
died,  and  was  buried  in  Aijalon  in  the  land  of  Zebulun. 

And   after  him  Abdon   the  son  of  Hillel   the  Pira-  13 

7.  in  one  of  the  cities  of  Gilead.  The  Hebrew  is  l  in  the 
cities  of  Gilead.'  The  Greek  reads  'in  his  city  in  Gilead,'  the 
Latin  *  in  his  city  Gilead,'  the  Syriac  '  in  a  city  of  Gilead.' 

xii.  8-15.  Ibzan,  Elon  and  Abdon.  Three  so-called  minor 
judges  are  now  mentioned.  Their  stories  show  the  same  character- 
istics as  the  accounts  of  Tola  and  Jair  (x.  1-5).  They  do  not 
save  the  Israelites  from  any  enemy,  but  simply  exercise  authority 
or  influence  over  their  peoples.  Their  names  and  what  is  known 
about  them  seems  to  have  been  derived  from  their  tombs,  which 
are  always  mentioned.  The  chronology  is  the  one  thing  which 
has  led  to  the  introduction  of  these  men.    (See  Introd.  p.  13  f.) 

3.  Ibzan.  The  name  does  not  occur  anywhere  but  here,  and 
its  meaning  is  unknown.  Josephus  thought  that  the  Beth-lehem 
referred  to  here  was  Beth-lehem  of  Judah,  but  it  was  more 
probably  the  city  of  Zebulun  mentioned  in  Joshua  xix.  15,  which 
still  retains  its  name  in  Arabic  form  (Beit-Lahm),  and  is  about 
seven  miles  from  Nazareth,  west  of  Seffurleh. 

Ibzan  had  thirty  sons,  all  of  whom  he  married  to  wives  from 
other  clans,  and  thirty  daughters,  whom  he  likewise  married.  By 
the  connexions  thus  established  he  was  a  man  of  importance,  and 
these  facts  were  probably  recorded  on  his  tomb. 

11,  12.  Elon  (meaning  'a  terebinth  ')  occurs  in  Gen.  xlvi.  14 
and  Num.  xxvi.  26  as  the  name  of  a  clan  of  Zebulun.  Here  the 
progenitor  of  the  clan  is  probably  intended.  The  name  of  his 
burying-place,  Aijalon,  is  only  another  pronunciation  of  the  same 
name. 

13,  1-4.  Abdon.  The  name  Abdon  occurs  twice  in  the  genealogy 
of  Benjamin,  1  Chron.  viii.  23,  30,  but  there  is  nothing  to  connect 


n8  JUDGES  12.  14— 13.  i.     JD 

14  thonite  judged  Israel.  And  he  had  forty  sons  and  thirty 
sons'  sons,  that  rode  on  threescore  and  ten  ass  colts  :  and 

15  he  judged  Israel  eight  years.  And  Abdon  the  son  of 
Hillel  the  Pirathonite  died,  and  was  buried  in  Pirathon 
in  the  land  of  Ephraim,  in  the  hill  country  of  the 
Amalekites. 

13  [D]  And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which 
was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  Lord  delivered 
them  into  the  hand  of  the  Philistines  forty  years. 

it  with  the  'judge'  who  is  mentioned   here    only.     The   name 
Hillel  does  not  occur  again  in  the  O.  T. 

Pirathon,  according  to  verse  15,  is  in  the  land  of  Ephraim 
(cf.  1  Chron.  xxvii.  14).  It  is  generally  thought  to  be  the  modern 
Fer'ata,  on  the  top  of  a  high  rock  south-west  of  Nablus  (Shechem). 
15.  in  the  hill  country  of  the  Amalekites.  There  is  an 
allusion  here  to  some  connexion  of  a  part  of  Ephraim's  territor}'. 
which  escapes  us  for  want  of  information.     See  v.  14. 

xiii.  1 — xvi.  31.     Samson. 

1.  The  Deuteronomic   transition  formula.     Cf.  ii.  n,  iii.  7,  12, 
vi.  1,  x.  6. 

the  Philistines  were,  like  the  Hebrews,  invaders  and  settlers 
in  Palestine.  Rameses  III  (about  1200  B.C.),  according  to  an 
Egyptian  inscription,  had  to  fight  against  a  number  of  foreign 
tribes  who  were  specialty  active  in  Syria.  He  is  said  to  have 
defeated  them  both  on  sea  and  land.  Of  these  tribes,  one  is  named 
that  of  the  Pu-ra-sa-ti,  and  it  seems  probable  that  these  were  the 
Philistines.  Hebrew  tradition  said  they  came  from  Caphtor, 
which  has  been  variously  explained  as  Cappadocia,  Cyprus, 
Crete,  or  the  Delta  of  Egypt.  The  evidence  of  the  monuments 
seems  to  favour  Asia  Minor  as  their  original  home.  As  the}'  did 
not  practise  circumcision  (1  Sam.  xviii.  25  ff.)  they  were  probably 
neither  Semites  nor  Egyptians  by  race.  Just  at  the  time  when 
they  are  mentioned  in  the  Egyptian  records  the  Egj^ptian  power 
was  weak  in  Palestine,  and  their  invasion  was  thus  made  easier. 
The  district  they  occupy  in  the  story  of  Samson  is  the  low-lying 
land  on  the  Mediterranean  coast  from  Gaza  on  the  south  to  near 
Jaffa  on  the  north.  On  the  east  were  the  low  hills  (the  Shephelah, 
see  i.  9)  which  led  up  to  the  highlands  of  Judah  and  Benjamin. 
It  was  probably  owing  to  the  Philistine  occupation  of  some  of 
these  low  hills  that  the  Danites  were  unable  to  effect  a  settle- 
ment in  the  territory  allotted  to  them,  and  so  migrated  (xviii). 
The    plains,   which    they   chiefly   settled    in,    contained    several 


JUDGES  13.  2-5.     J  119 

[J]  And  there  was  a  certain  man  of  Zorah,  of  the  2 
family  of  the  Danites,  whose  name  was  Manoah ;  and  his 
wife  was  barren,  and  bare  not.     And  the  angel  of  the  3 
Lord  appeared  unto  the  woman,  and  said  unto  her,  Behold 
now,  thou  art  barren,  and  bearest  not :  but  thou  shalt 
conceive,  and  bear  a  son.     Now  therefore  beware,  I  pray  4 
thee,  and  drink  no  wine  nor  strong  drink,  and  eat  not 
any  unclean  thing  :  for,  lo,  thou  shalt  conceive,  and  bear  5 

ancient  cities,  Gaza,  Gath,  Ashkelon,  &c,  which  are  mentioned 
in  the  Amarna  letters  (about  1400  b.  a),  and  the  great  high-road 
from  Egypt  and  Arabia  to  Syria  and  the  north  passed  through 
them.  The  towns  were  therefore  centres  of  a  much  higher 
civilization  than  that  of  either  the  Philistines  or  the  Hebrews, 
xiii.  2-24.     Events  connected  with  the  birth  of  Samson. 

2.  Zorah  in  xviii.  2,  8,  n,  as  in  Joshua  xix.  41,  is  a  Danite 
city,  but  in  the  later  passage,  Joshua  xv.  33,  as  in  2  Chron.  xi.  10, 
it  is  assigned  to  Judah,  for  when  these  latter  passages  were 
written  a  part  of  the  Danites  had  migrated  to  the  north  (xviii) 
and  the  rest  had  been  absorbed  in  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Zorah  is 
the  modern  Sur'ah,  about  seventeen  miles  west  of  Jerusalem,  and 
situated  on  a  hill  800  feet  above  the  valley  of  Sorek,  through 
which  the  railway  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem  now  runs.  Beth-shemesh 
was  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley  opposite  Zorah. 

of  the  family  of  the  Danites,  rather  '  of  the  clan,'  &c.  For 
the  Danites  see  xviii.  1. 

The  name  Manoah  (meaning  f  rest,'  or  l  place  of  rest')  occurs 
only  in  this  story,  unless  it  is  reproduced  in  the  '  Menuhoth '  and 
'  Manahathites 1  of  1  Chron.  ii.  52,  54. 

3-7.  The  angel  of  Yahweh  appears  to  Manoah's  wife,  who  is 
barren,  promises  her  the  birth  of  a  son,  and  gives  directions  as  to 
his  training.     She  tells  her  husband. 

3.  For  the  angel  of  the  LORD,  who  appears  evidently  in  human 
form  and  unrecognized,  see  ii.  1. 

hut  thou  shalt  conceive,  and  hear  a  son.  These  words  are 
very  awkward  grammatically  in  Hebrew,  and  seem  to  be  an 
interpolation.  The  announcement  of  the  conception  and  birth 
are  made  in  verse  5. 

4.  wine  and  strong*  drink  are  often  used  together  in  the  O.  T. 
(and  so  in  Luke  i.  15,  reproduced  from  Num.  vi.  3)  to  denote 
all  intoxicating  liquors.  The  Hebrew  word  'shekar*  (strong 
drink)  includes  intoxicating  drinks  made  from  grains,  fruits,  or 
honey. 

any  unclean  thing".     The   laws   as   to   unclean   things   in 


120  JUDGES  13.  5.     J 

a  son ;  and  no  razor  shall  come  upon  his  head :  for  the 
child  shall  be  a  Nazirite  unto  God  from  the  womb :  and 
he  shall  begin  to  save  Israel  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Phi- 

Deut.  xiv  and  Lev.  xi  belong  to  periods  centuries  later  than 
this  (though  they  may  contain  some  older  customs),  and  so 
cannot  be  used  here.  We  may,  however,  judge  that  the  expres- 
sion refers  to  certain  animals  forbidden  as  food,  and  carrion 
generally  (cf.  Exod.  xxii.  31,  E). 

5.  thou  slialt  conceive,  and  bear  a  son :  better,  as  in  Gen.  xvi. 
11,  'thou  art  with  child,  and  shalt  bear  a  son.' 

no  razor  shall  come  upon  his  head :  for  the  child  shall  he 
a  Nazirite.  The  laws  concerning  the  Nazarite  are  given  in 
Num.  vi,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  these  belong  to  a  code 
that  was  issued  some  600  years  after  the  events  of  this  chapter. 
Moreover,  there  are  some  striking  differences  between  the  condi- 
tions in  the  two  passages.  Here  the  Nazariteship  is  for  life,  in 
Numbers  for  a  period  only  ;  here  the  child  is  a  Nazarite  by  the 
consecration  of  his  mother,  in  the  later  work  by  a  voluntary 
vow  undertaken  by  the  person  himself;  here  the  hair  is  never  to 
be  cut,  but  in  the  Code  it  is  to  be  cut  off  and  offered  to  Yahweh 
at  the  expiration  of  the  period  of  Nazariteship.  The  character- 
istics of  Samson's  Nazariteship  are  that  he  is  a  devotee,  devoted 
to  Yahweh  all  his  life,  and  that  his  hair  is  never  to  be  cut.  His 
mother  is  forbidden  by  the  angel  of  Yahweh  '  to  eat  of  anything 
that  cometh  of  the  vine,'  or  'to  drink  wine  or  strong  drink/  or 
'to  eat  any  unclean  thing'  (verse  14),  but  we  are  not  told  that 
Samson  himself  observed  the  same  injunctions.  The  account  of 
the  'drinking-feast'  (xiv.  10)  does  not  suggest  an  abstinence  from 
wine  or  strong  drink. 

The  importance  attached  to  the  hair  is  common  not  only  to 
such  primitive  peoples  as  the  Australians,  but  also  to  more 
advanced  races  as  the  Persians  and  Greeks.  It  was  so  closely 
connected  with  a  man's  personal  being  that  to  offer  it  to  a  god 
was  to  offer  part  of  one's  self,  and  to  keep  it  uncut  was  to 
preserve  one's  own  life  in  its  fullest  strength.  (Interesting 
examples  of  this  belief  will  be  found  in  any  anthropological 
work.) 

he  shall  begin  to  save  Israel  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
Philistines.  These  words  probably  explain  why  the  writer  who 
first  united  the  two  sets  of  traditions  of  Hebrew  heroes  introduced 
the  story  of  Samson  into  his  work.  Samuel  was  the  real  deliverer 
of  the  Israelites  from  the  Philistine  oppression,  and  his  story 
was  probably  in  the  pre-Deuteronomic  Book  of  Judges,  but  as 
the  wild  actions  of  Samson  among  the  Philistines  did  to  some 
extent  benefit  the  Hebrews  who  lived  on  their  border,  the  writer 


JUDGES  13.6-9.     J  121 

listines.     Then  the  woman  came  and  told  her  husband,  6 
saying,  A  man  of  God  came  unto  me,  and  his  countenance 
was  like  the  countenance  of  the  angel  of  God,  very  ter- 
rible ;  and  I  aiiced  him  not  whence  he  was,  neither  told 
he  me  his  name :    but  he  said  unto  me,  Behold,  thou  7 
shalt  conceive,  and  bear  a  son ;  and  now  drink  no  wine 
nor  strong  drink,  and  eat  not  any  unclean  thing :  for  the 
child  shall  be  a  Nazirite  unto  God  from  the  womb  to  the 
day  of  his  death.    Then  Manoah  intreated  the  Lord,  and  8 
said,  Oh  Lord,  I  pray  thee,  let  the  man  of  God  whom 
thou  didst  send  come  again  unto  us,  and  teach  us  what 
we  shall  do  unto  the  child  that  shall  be  born.     And  God  9 
hearkened  to  the  voice  of  Manoah ;  and  the  angel  of  God 
came  again  unto  the  woman  as  she  sat  in  the  field :  but 

copies  his  story,  although  he  cannot  say  that  the  Philistines 
'were  subdued  before  the  children  of  Israel'  (xi.  33)  or  that 
'the  land  had  rest'  (viii.  28)  in  the  days  of  Samson. 

G.  A  man  of  God,  i.  e.  either  a  man  of  superhuman  appearance, 
or  more  probably  one  of  those  men  who,  claiming  superior  know- 
ledge of  God's  intentions,  appeared  from  time  to  time  to  historic 
personages  to  deliver  messages  from  God  (cf.  1  Sam.  ii.  27; 
Judges  vi.  7).  Such  men  probably  wandered  from  place  to  place, 
like  some  of  the  dervishes  among  the  Arabs  and  fakirs  in  India 
to-day. 

The  woman  describes  this  one  as  of  awe-inspiring  appearance, 
making  her  think  of  the  stories  of  Yahweh  as  He  appeared  in  human 
form.  The  fact  that  she  did  not  ask  his  name  (the  first  question 
put  to  a  stranger  in  the  East)  shows  the  impression  he  made 
upon  her. 

xiii.  8-23.  Manoalis  interview  ivith  the  angel.  Manoah  naturally 
wishes  to  see  the  man  who  has  made  this  strange  communication 
to  his  wife.  The  angel  appears  again  to  the  woman  and  waits 
until  she  brings  her  husband,  who  questions  him  and  offers  him 
hospitality.  The  angel  declines  this,  but  suggests  a  sacrifice, 
which  Manoah  offers.  In  the  flame  of  the  sacrifice  the  angel 
ascends  and  disappears.  Manoah  and  his  wife  now  realize  that 
they  have  seen  God,  and  fear  death  as  the  consequence,  but  are 
comforted  by  the  thought  that  Yahweh  would  not  have  treated 
them  so  well  if  He  had  intended  to  slay  them. 


122  JUDGES  13.  10-17.     J 

10  Manoah  her  husband  was  not  with  her.  And  the  woman 
made  haste,  and  ran,  and  told  her  husband,  and  said 
unto  him,  Behold,  the  man  hath  appeared  unto  me,  that 

n  came  unto  me  the  other  day.  And  Manoah  arose,  and 
went  after  his  wife,  and  came  to  the  man,  and  said  unto 
him,  Art  thou  the  man  that  spakest  unto  the  woman? 

12  And  he  said,  I  am.  And  Manoah  said,  Now  let  thy 
words  come  to  pass :  what  shall  be  the  manner  of  the 

13  child,  and  what  shall  be  his  work?  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  said  unto  Manoah,  Of  all  that  I  said  unto  the 

14  woman  let  her  beware.  She  may  not  eat  of  any  thing  that 
cometh  of  the  vine,  neither  let  her  drink  wine  or  strong 
drink,  nor  eat  any  unclean  thing;  all  that  I  commanded  her 

15  let  her  observe.  And  Manoah  said  unto  the  angel  of 
the  Lord,  I  pray  thee,  let  us  detain  thee,  that  we  may 

16  make  ready  a  kid  for  thee.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  Manoah,  Though  thou  detain  me,  I  will  not 
eat  of  thy  bread :  and  if  thou  wilt  make  ready  a  burnt 
offering,  thou  must  offer  it  unto  the  Lord.    For  Manoah 

17  knew  not  that  he  was  the  angel  of  the  Lord.  And 
Manoah  said  unto  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  What  is  thy 
name,  that  when  thy  words  come  to  pass  we  may  do  thee 

12.  The  verse  means  :  '  Granted  that  thy  word  comes  true,  what 
will  be  the  manner  of  life  of  the  boy  and  his  action  V  i.  e.  How 
is  he  to  be  trained,  and  what  ought  he  to  do  ? 

The  next  two  verses  are  not  an  answer  to  Manoah's  question. 
The  angel  only  tells  him  that  his  wife  must  be  careful  to  observe 
his  previous  commands  as  to  food  and  drink.  The  commands  are 
enlarged  here  by  the  addition  of  abstinence  from  everything  con- 
nected with  the  vine. 

15,  16.  Manoah  offers  the  same  form  of  hospitality  to  the  angel 
as  Gideon  had  done  (see  vi.  18  f.),  but  this  time  the  angel  definitely 
declines  a  meal,  and  proposes  a  burnt  offering  (to  consist  of  the 
food  offered  to  him)  to  Yahweh. 

bread :  here  in  the  general  sense  of  food. 

1*7,  18.  Manoah  asks  the  angel  his  name,  that,  when  (or  'if') 
his  words  come    true,    he  may  honour  him   (in  some   way  not 


JUDGES  13.  1S-22.     J  123 

honour?    And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  18 
Wherefore  askest  thou  after  my  name,  seeing  it  is  won- 
derful ?  So  Manoah  took  the  kid  with  the  meal  offering,  19 
and  offered  it  upon  the  rock  unto  the  Lord  :   and  the 
angel  did  wondrously,  and  Manoah  and  his  wife  looked  on. 
For  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  flame  went  up  toward  heaven  20 
from  off  the  altar,  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ascended 
in  the  flame  of  the  altar:  and  Manoah  and  his  wife  looked 
on  ;  and  they  fell  on  their  faces  to  the  ground.     But  the  21 
angel  of  the  Lord  did  no  more  appear  to  Manoah  or  to 
his  wife.     Then  Manoah  knew  that  he  was  the  angel  of 
the  Lord.     And  Manoah  said  unto  his  wife,  We  shall  22 

mentioned"".  The  angel  replies  that  his  name  would  be  beyond 
his  power  to  understand.  Jacob  had  asked  God  His  name  when 
he  wrestled  with  Him,  but  had  not  been  satisfied  (Gen.  xxxii.  29). 
These  two  verses  seem  to  be  the  continuation  of  verse  14,  while 
verse  16  is  continued  in  verse  19. 

xiii.  19,  20.      The  sacrifice. 

19.  with  the  meal  offering.  As  the  meal  offering  was  a  neces- 
sary accompaniment  of  the  burnt  offering  in  the  later  legislation 
(Num.  xv.  8-9,  P),  but  not  so  in  earlier  practice,  these  words 
may  have  been  added  here  (and  in  verse  23)  to  make  Manoah's 
sacrifice  correct  according  to  the  later  idea. 

upon  the  rock,  which  was  generally  used  b}'  Manoah  as  an 
altar. 

and  the  angel  did  wondrously.  The  words  'the  angel' 
are  not  in  the  text,  which  simply  has  'and  doing  wondrousry.' 
which  does  not  make  sense.  It  is  better  to  change  the  conjunc- 
tion into  the  definite  article  (a  change  of  one  letter  in  Hebrew), 
when  the  words  then  become  attributive  to  the  word  Yahweh 
which  precedes — '  they  offered  it  upon  the  rock  to  Yahweh  who 
works  wondrously.'  A  similar  expression  is  used  of  Yahweh  in 
Exod.  xv.  11  and  Ps.  lxxvii.  14. 

The  last  words  of  the  verse,  and  Manoah  and  his  wife  looked 
on,  were  probably  put  in  here  by  a  copyist's  mistake  from  the  next 
verse. 

20.  For  (/*'/.  '  And ')  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  flame  (of  the 
sacrifice)  kindled  by  Manoah  went  up  heavenwards,  the  angel 
went  up  in  the  altar-flame  as  Manoah  and  his  wife  looked  on. 

22.  It  was  a  firm  belief  at  this  time  that  to  see  God  was  death 


124  JUDGES  13.  23—H.  i.     J 

23  surely  die,  because  we  have  seen  God.  But  his  wife 
said  urito  him,  If  the  Lord  were  pleased  to  kill  us,  he 
would  not  have  received  a  burnt  offering  and  a  meal 
offering  at  our  hand,  neither  would  he  have  shewed  us 
all  these  things,  nor  would  at  this  time  have  told  such 

24  things  as  these.  And  the  woman  bare  a  son,  and  called 
his  name  Samson  :    and  the  child  grew,  and  the  Lord 

25  blessed  him.  And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  began  to  move 
him  in  Mahaneh-dan,  between  Zorah  and  Eshtaol. 

14      And  Samson  went  down  to  Timnah,  and  saw  a  woman 

for  man  (cf.  vi.  22  f.),  although  He  is  represented  in  stories  of 
older  times  as  having  walked  and  talked  familiarly  with  men. 

24.  The  earliest  form  of  the  name  in  Hebrew  was  Shamshon, 
which  has  come  into  English  from  the  Greek  through  the  Latin. 
The  Hebrew  text  contains  a  later  form,  Shimshon.  The  name 
is  derived  from  Shemesh,  meaning  'Sun,'  and  probably  denotes 
'sunny'  or  '  Sun's  man.'  That  the  Sun  was  worshipped  in  this 
part  of  the  country  seems  clear  from  the  name  of  the  city  Betli- 
shemesh  (i.e.  'Abode  of  the  Sun,'  like  Beth-el,  'Abode  of  El'), 
just  opposite  Zorah.  Considering  the  importance  of  Hebrew 
names,  it  seems  inconceivable  that  a  Hebrew  mother  should  give 
such  a  name  to  her  child  if  his  birth  had  been  associated  with 
a  revelation  of  Yahweh. 

25.  the  spirit  of  the  LORD  in  the  story  of  Samson  is  an  irre- 
sistible impulse  accompanied  by  unusual  physical  strength  (cf.  xiv. 
19,  xv.  14). 

began  to  move  him  or  to  disturb  him.  The  verb  used  here 
occurs  only  in  four  other  passages.  In  three  of  them  it  denotes 
the  disturbance  of  spirit  caused  by  dreams  (Gen.  xli.  8  ;  Dan.  ii.  1, 
3),  and  in  Ps.  lxxvii.  4  of  agitation  caused  by  trouble  and  the 
thought  of  God.  Generally  when  the  spirit  of  Yahweh  came  on 
a  man  he  did  some  violent  deed  at  once,  but  here  it  is  associated 
only  with  a  general  excitement  or  disturbance  of  mind,  which 
must  have  shown  itself  in  some  noticeable  manner  as  the  exact 
place  of  its  occurrence  is  mentioned. 

Eshtaol  is  generally  associated  with  Zorah  (Joshua  xv.  33, 
xix.  41  ;  Judges  xvi.  31,  xviii.  2,  11  ;  cf.  t  Chron.  ii.  53%  and  was 
only  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  east  of  it  (the  modern  Eshu'a). 
Thus  the  exact  position  intended  by  the  author  of  'Dan's  camp' 
is  known.    A  place  of  this  name  is  mentioned  later  (see  xviii.  12). 

xiv.  In  this  and  the  following  chapter  is  narrated  a  series 
of  events  connected  with  Samson's  attachment   to  a  woman   in 


JUDGES  14.  2,3.     J  125 

in  Timnah  of  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines.  And  he 
came  up,  and  told  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  said,  I 
have  seen  a  woman  in  Timnah  of  the  daughters  of  the 
Philistines  :  now  therefore  get  her  for  me  to  wife.  Then 
his  father  and  his  mother  said  unto  him,  Is  there  never  a 

Timnah.  Samson  asks  his  lather  to  secure  this  woman  for  him 
as  a  wife,  but  the  father  objects  to  her  as  a  stranger,  and  apparently 
will  not  receive  her  into  his  house.  Samson  then  contracts  with 
her  an  irregular  marriage,  whereby  she  remains  in  her  house  and 
he  visits  her  when  he  will.  On  the  way  to  Timnah  on  one 
occasion  he  kills  a  lion,  and  returning  to  Zorah  finds  honey  in 
the  carcase  of  the  slain  beast.  Some  time  shortly  afterwards 
he  gives  a  feast  ('for  so  used  the  3roung  men  to  do')  to  his 
Philistine  acquaintances  in  Timnah,  and  during  its  continuance 
proposes  a  riddle.  The  Philistines  threaten  Samson's  wife  with 
punishment  unless  she  persuades  him  to  tell  her  the  solution  of 
the  riddle,  and  by  this  means  are  able  to  win  their  wager  from 
Samson.  He,  however,  in  anger  leaves  the  woman  and  kills  thirty 
Philistines  in  Ashkelon.  The  woman  gives  him  up  and  joins 
another  man. 

1.  Timnah  (the  modern  Tibnah)  was  about  three  and  a  half  miles 
south-west  of  Zorah,  among  the  hills  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley 
ofSorek.  It  is  mentioned  in  Gen.  xxxviii.  12  ff.  In  Joshua  xix.  43 
it  is  ascribed  to  Dan,  and  in  xv.  10  to  Judah.  It  is  mentioned 
again  in  2  Chron.  xxviii.  18  among  the  cities  which  the  Philistines 
had  reconquered  in  the  time  of  Ahaz. 

Samson,  on  a  visit  to  Timnah,  saw  a  Philistine  woman,  whom 
he  wished  to  have  as  wife.  He  asked  his  father  to  arrange  the 
matter  with  her  parents.  Manoah  protested  against  his  taking 
a  foreigner  as  wife.  All  Samson's  adventures  are  connected 
with  his  relations  to  women.  Those  with  the  Timnahite  occupy 
chapters  xiv  and  xv ;  with  the  harlot  of  Gaza  xvi.  1-3 ;  with 
Delilah  xvi.  4  ff. 

2.  In  Gen.  xxxiv.  4  Shechem  makes  a  similar  request  to  his 
father. 

3.  The  words  and  his  mother  have  been  added  (cf.  '  my 
people ').  We  have  parallels  to  the  verse  in  Genesis.  Thus  in 
xxiv.  3  Abraham  makes  his  servant  swear  not  to  take  a  foreign 
wife  for  Isaac  ;  in  xxvi.  34  f.  Esau's  foreign  wife  is  a  source  of 
bitterness  to  Isaac  and  Rebekah  ;  and  in  xXvii.  46  and  xxviii 
Isaac  charges  Jacob  not  to  take  a  Canaanitish  wife.  It  seems 
clear  that  Samson  originally  intended  a  regular  marriage,  with 
the  introduction  of  his  wife  into  his  father's  house.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  carried  out.     (See  xv.) 


i26  JUDGES  14.  4-6.     J 

woman  among  the  daughters  of  thy  brethren,  or  among 
all  my  people,  that  thou  goest  to  take  a  wife  of  the  uncir- 
cumcised  Philistines  ?  And  Samson  said  unto  his  father, 

4  Get  her  for  me ;  for  she  pleaseth  me  well.  But  his  father 
and  his  mother  knew  not  that  it  was  of  the  Lord  ;  for  he 
sought  an  occasion  against  the  Philistines.  Now  at  that 
time  the  Philistines  had  rule  over  Israel. 

5  Then  went  Samson  down,  and  his  father  and  his 
mother,  to  Timnah,  and  came  to  the  vineyards  of  Tim- 
nah :    and,    behold,  a  young  lion  roared  against   him. 

6  And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon  him,  and 
he  rent  him  as  he  would  have  rent  a  kid,  and  he  had 

the  uncircumcised  Philistines.  The  Canaanites  seem  to 
have  generally  practised  circumcision,  though  the  Shechemites 
did  not,  according  to  Gen.  xxxiv.  The  term  i  the  uncircumcised ' 
is  often  used  by  itself  to  denote  the  Philistines  in  the  O.  T. 
(Judges  xv.  18  ;  i  Sam.  xiv.  6,  &c). 

she  pleaseth  me  well:  lit.  'she  is  agreeable  in  my  eyes.' 

4.  When  the  traditions  of  Samson  were  written  down,  the 
author  wrote  them,  not  as  a  modern  folklorist  would  do,  to 
illustrate  the  modes  of  life  and  thought  of  bygone  days,  but  to 
show  how  Yahweh  wrought  for  Israel  through  these  heroes.  So 
in  this  verse  he  tells  us  that  Yahweh  was  seeking  an  opportunity 
of  doing  a  mischief  to  the  Philistines,  and  it  was  part  of  His  plan 
that  Samson  should  establish  relations  with  the  woman  of  Timnah. 
His  father,  the  writer  tells  us,  had  no  knowledge  of  this.  Yahweh 's 
action  was  due  to  His  care  for  the  interests  of  His  people,  for  the 
Philistines  had  rule  over  Israel  (it  would  be  more  correct 
historically  to  say  over  the  Israelites  of  that  district),  and  any 
harm  done  to  them  was  a  benefit  to  their  Hebrew  neighbours. 

xiv.  5-9.  The  occasion  that  gave  rise  to  a  riddle.  The  course 
of  events  in  these  verses  has  beer  somewhat  obscured  by  the 
introduction  of  Samson's  father  and  mother,  as  if  they  had  agreed 
to  help  him.  This  change  in  the  story  may  have  been  made  to 
save  Samson  from  the  charge  of  unfilial  conduct. 

5,  6.  Samson  on  his  way  to  Timnah  met  a  young  lion  that 
roared  at  him.  In  a  frenzy  of  superhuman  strength  he  tore  it  as 
if  it  were  a  kid.  His  father  and  mother  were  not  with  him,  for 
they  know  nothing  of  this  incident.  The  last  clause  of  the  verse 
is  probably  taken  from  9. 


JUDGES  14.  7-12.     J  127 

nothing  in  his  hand :    but  he  told  not  his  father  or  his 
mother  what  he  had  done.     And  he  went  down,  and   7 
talked  with  the  woman;  and  she  pleased  Samson  well. 
And  after  a  while  he  returned  to  take  her,  and  he  turned   8 
aside  to  see  the  carcase  of  the  lion  :  and,  behold,  there 
was  a  swarm  of  bees  in  the  body  of  the  lion,  and  honey. 
And  he  took  it  into  his  hands,  and  went  on,  eating  as  he   9 
went,  and  he  came  to  his  father  and  mother,  and  gave 
unto  them,  and  they  did  eat :  but  he  told  them  not  that 
he  had  taken  the  honey  out  of  the  body  of  the  lion. 
And  his  father  went  down  unto  the  woman  :  and  Samson  10 
made  there  a  feast ;  for  so  used  the  young  men  to  do. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  saw  him,   that  they  11 
brought  thirty  companions  to  be  with  him.     And  Samson  12 
said  unto  them,  Let  me  now  put  forth  a  riddle  unto  you : 

8,  9.  After  spending  some  time  at  Timnah  Samson  returned 
home.  On  his  way  he  turned  aside  to  see  the  carcase  of  the 
lion,  and  found  in  it  a  swarm  of  bees  and  honej'.  Some  of  this 
he  ate,  some  he  took  home  to  his  father  and  mother,  not  telling 
them,  however,  whence  he  had  got  it. 

8.  The  words  to  take  her  (i.  e.  in  marriage)  are  evidently  a 
gloss  very  badly  introduced  here.  Samson  is  on  his  way  back 
to  Zorah,  whence  he  goes  to  Timnah  again  later  for  the  marriage. 

xiv.   10-20.      The  feast  and  its  results. 

10.  Again  the  words  '  his  father '  are  introduced  so  as  to  spoil 
the  sense.  Read.  '  and  Samson  went  down  unto  the  woman  and 
made  there  a  feast '  (the  word  means  literally  '  an  occasion  of 
drinking'),  for  the  3'oung  men  of  that  time  were  accustomed  to 
give  such  feasts.  At  a  proper  wedding  the  friends  of  the  bride- 
groom escorted  the  bride  to  her  new  home  and  a  feast  was  held 
there.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  was  a  bridal  feast  at  all, 
or  simply  one  such  as  young  men  gave  from  time  to  time  to  their 
friends.  Samson  would  very  naturally  give  a  feast  to  the  friends 
of  the  woman. 

11.  when  they  saw  him.  Some  of  the  Greek  MSS.  read  t  since 
they  feared  him.'  Some  parts  of  the  Hebrew  verbs  '  to  see'  and 
'to  fear'  are  very  much  alike.  The  number  of  the  company 
explains  the  number  of  the  garments  in  the  wager. 

12.  a  riddle    (as  in   Ezek.   xvii.  2),   or   'dark  saying'  (as  in 


128  JUDGES  14.  13-15.     J 

if  ye  can  declare  it  me  within  the  seven  days  of  the  feast, 
and  find  it  out,  then  I  will  give  you  thirty  linen  garments 

13  and  thirty  changes  of  raiment :  but  if  ye  cannot  declare  it 
me,  then  shall  ye  give  me  thirty  linen  garments  and  thirty 
changes  of  raiment.     And  they  said  unto  him,  Put  forth 

14  thy  riddle,  that  we  may  hear  it.     And  he  said  unto  them, 

Out  of  the  eater  came  forth  meat, 
And  out  of  the  strong  came  forth  sweetness. 
And  they  could  not  in  three  days  declare  the  riddle. 

15  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  seventh  day,  that  they  said 

Ps.  xlix.  4,  lxxviii.  2  ;  Prov.  i.  6),  differed  from  a  parable  in  that 
its  object  was  usually  to  test  ingenuity  in  its  solution,  while  the 
object  of  the  parable  was  didactic.  If  the  references  in  the  parable 
were  too  obscure  it  defeated  its  own  purpose,  but  in  the  riddle 
the  more  difficult  it  was  the  better.  In  ancient  times  the  solution 
of  riddles  at  feasts  was  a  favourite  amusement. 

thirty  linen  garments  and  thirty  changes  of  raiment. 
The  linen  garments,  mentioned  again  in  Isa.  iii.  23  and  Prov. 
xxxi.  24,  are  wrappers  of  linen  worn  alone  as  night-garments,  or 
as  outer  garments  in  the  day.  The  '  changes  of  raiment '  are 
festal  garments  as  distinguished  from  working  clothes,  and  were 
often  given  as  presents  (Gen.  xlv.  22  ;  2  Kings  v.  5). 

14.  The  riddle  is  contained  in  the  first  line,  the  second  being 
formed,  as  often  in  Hebrew  poetry,  by  the  substitution  of  new 
terms  for  the  same  objects,  '  the  strong '  for  '  the  eater,'  !  sweet- 
ness '  for  '  meat.'  The  puzzle  is  to  substitute  for  the  general 
terms  used  in  the  riddle  the  special  ones  which  will  make  the 
statement  refer  to  an  actual  event.  This  event  is  Samson's 
having  taken  honey  from  the  lion.  As  the  Philistine  guests  did 
not  know  what  had  happened,  it  was  not  a  riddle  to  be  solved  by 
thinking  of  words,  but  by  crafty  action  ;  and  by  the  latter  means 
they  were  successful. 

xiv.  15-18.  How  the  answer  was  obtained.  How  long  the 
Philistine  company  tried  other  means  of  finding  what  Samson's 
riddle  meant  before  they  approached  the  woman  of  Timnah  we 
cannot  tell,  because  the  figures  in  the  text  are  mutually  con- 
tradictory. As  it  stands,  the  text  says  they  were  unable  to  find 
it  out  for  three  days,  and  on  the  seventh  came  to  the  woman.  This 
would  be  fairly  intelligible  on  the  supposition  that  the  riddle  was 
propounded  on  the  third  day  of  the  feast ;  but  according  to  the 
Greek  and  Syriac  versions  it  was  on  the  fourth  day  that  they 


JUDGES  14.  16-18.     J  129 

unto  Samson's  wife,  Entice  thy  husband,   that  he  may 
declare  unto  us  the  riddle,  lest  we  burn  thee  and  thy 
father's  house  with  fire :  have  ye  called  us  to  impoverish 
us?  is  it  not  so?  And  Samson's  wife  wept  before  him,  16 
and  said,  Thou  dost  but  hate  me,  and  lovest  me  not : 
thou  hast   put  forth  a   riddle  unto  the  children  of  my 
people,  and  hast  not  told  it  me.     And  he  said  unto  her, 
Behold,  I  have  not  told  it  my  father  nor  my  mother,  and 
shall  I  tell  thee  ?  And  she  wept  before  him  the  seven  days,  1 7 
while  their  feast  lasted :   and  it  came  to  pass  on  the 
seventh  day,  that  he  told  her,  because  she  pressed  him 
sore :  and    she  told  the  riddle  to  the   children  of  her 
people.     And  the  men  of  the  city  said  unto  him  on  the  18 
seventh  day  before  the  sun  went  down,  What  is  sweeter 

sought  the  woman's  help.  But  verse  17  agrees  with  neither  of 
these,  for  according  to  it  the  woman  wept  before  Samson  (in  her 
annoyance  because  he  would  not  tell  her  the  solution)  '  the  seven 
days,  while  the  feast  lasted.'  which  would  mean  that  the  riddle 
was  propounded  the  first  day,  and  that  the  woman  was  at  once 
told  with  threats  to  find  out  what  it  meant.  Two  or  three  varying 
traditions  may  have  existed.  It  is  impossible  to  say  what  the 
earliest  form  of  the  story  was. 

15.  Entice:  the  same  word  is  used  in  xvi.  5,  in  2  Sam.  iii.  25 
(Eng.  '  to  deceive  '),  and  1  Kings  xxii.  20. 

lest  we  burn  thee,  &c.  The  Ephraimites  threatened  Jephthah 
with  the  same  punishment  (xii.  1).  This  fate  actually  met  the 
woman  later  (xv.  6). 

is  it  not  so  ?  These  words  are  very  awkward  here.  They  are 
the  translation  of  one  Hebrew  word  from  which  a  final  m  has 
been  dropped  according  to  some  of  the  Hebrew  MSS.  and  the 
Chaldee  version.  The  word  with  this  m  restored  means  'hither.' 
'  Have  you  invited  us  hither  to  impoverish  us  ? ' 

16,  1*7.  The  woman  questioned  Samson  and  wept  in  his 
presence  every  day  of  the  feast,  but  without  success,  until  on 
the  seventh  day  she  made  a  special  effort  and  pressed  him  sore 
'so  in  the  Delilah  story,  xvi.  16),  and  he  told  her.  She  immediately 
told  her  friends. 

18.  before  the  sun  went  down.  The  word  translated  f  sun  ' 
is  rare,  and  generally  confined  to  poetic  speech,  and  the  form  here 
used  denotes  the  accusative.     Probably  it   is  a   mistake   for  the 


130  JUDGES  14.  i9—15.  4.     J 

than  honey  ?  and  what  is  stronger  than  a  lion  ?  And  he 
said  unto  them, 

If  ye  had  not  plowed  with  my  heifer, 

Ye  had  not  found  out  my  riddle. 

19  And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon  him,  and 
he  went  down  to  Ashkelon,  and  smote  thirty  men  of 
them,  and  took  their  spoil,  and  gave  the  changes  of 
raiment  unto  them  that  declared  the  riddle.  And  his 
anger  was  kindled,  and  he  went  up  to  his  father's  house. 

20  But  Samson's  wife  was  given  to  his  companion,  whom  he 
had  used  as  his  friend. 

15  But  it  came  to  pass  after  a  while,  in  the  time  of  wheat 
harvest,  that  Samson  visited  his  wife  with  a  kid  ;  and  he 
said,  I  will  go  in  to  my  wife  into  the  chamber.     But  her 

2  father  would  not  suffer  him  to  go  in.  And  her  father 
said,  I  verily  thought  that  thou  hadst  utterly  hated  her ; 
therefore  I  gave  her  to  thy  companion :  is  not  her 
younger  sister  fairer  than  she?    take  her,  I  pray  thee, 

3  instead  of  her.  And  Samson  said  unto  them,  This  time 
shall  I  be  blameless  in  regard  of  the  Philistines,  when  I 

4  do  them  a  mischief.     And  Samson  went  and  caught  three 

word  meaning  'chamber,'  and  the  sentence  must  be  translated 
'before  he  went  into  the  chamber'  (cf.  xv.  1).  The  guests  waited 
until  the  last  moment  before  triumphing  over  Samson. 

xv.  1-19.  A  series  of  feuds  resulting  from  Samson's  connexion 
with  the  Timnahite  woman. 

xv.  1,  2.  Samson  is  provoked.  Samson  goes  down  to  Timnah 
to  visit  the  woman  his  friend,  but  finds  that  she  has  been  given 
to  a  friend.  He  is  offered  her  younger  sister  in  her  place.  The 
nature  of  the  so-called  marriage  is  evident.  The  woman  was  not 
received  into  the  house  of  Samson's  family  as  a  wife,  but  stays  in 
her  own  home,  where  Samson  has  the  right  to  visit  her. 

1.  in  the  time  of  wheat  harvest,  i.e.  about  May.  This 
indication  of  time  prepares  the  way  for  verse  5. 

with  a  kid  :  so  Judah  rewards  Tamar.     Gen.  xxxviii.  176°. 

xv.  3-5.  Samson's  revenge.     Samson  this  time  is  calm  in  his 


JUDGES  15.  5-10.     J  131 

hundred  foxes,  and  took  firebrands,  and  turned  tail  to 
tail,  and  put  a  firebrand  in  the  midst  between  every  two 
tails.     And  when  he  had  set  the  brands  on  fire,  he  let   5 
them  go  into  the  standing  corn  of  the  Philistines,  and 
burnt  up  both  the  shocks  and  the  standing  corn,  and 
also  the  oliveyards.    Then  the  Philistines  said,  Who  hath   6 
done  this  ?  And  they  said,  Samson,  the  son  in  law  of  the 
Timnite,  because  he  hath  taken  his  wife,  and  given  her 
to  his  companion.     And  the  Philistines  came  up,  and 
burnt  her  and  her  father  with  fire.     And  Samson  said   7 
unto  them,  If  ye  do  after  this  manner,  surely  I  will  be 
avenged  of  you,  and  after  that  I  will  cease.     And  he   8 
smote  them  hip  and  thigh  with  a  great  slaughter :   and 
he  went  down  and  dwelt  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock  of  Etam. 

Then  the  Philistines  went  up,  and  pitched  in  Judah,   9 
and  spread  themselves  in  Lehi.     And  the  men  of  Judah  10 

preparation  of  mischief.  Wrong  has  been  done  him,  and  he  has 
a  right  to  punish.  He  is  not  moved  by  frenzy ;  no  '  spirit  of 
Yahweh '  comes  upon  him.  He  turns  out  three  hundred  foxes,  with 
lighted  torches  fastened  to  each  pair  of  tails,  into  the  corn-fields, 
and  the  corn,  both  cut  and  growing,  is  destroyed  (and  the  olive 
trees  and  vineyards  are  damaged). 

A  piece  of  folklore  which  cannot  be  criticized  seriously. 

xv.  6.  Retaliation  of  the  Philistines. 

6.  her  and  her  father  should  certainly  be  '  her  and  her  father's 
house'  (i.  e.  'family'),  as  in  some  Hebrew  MSS.  and  in  the  Greek 
and  Syriac  versions.    (Cf.  xiv.  15.) 

xv.  7,  8.  Samson  again  smites  the  Philistines  and  retires  to  Etam. 

8.  the  rock  of  Etam.  A  city  called  Etam  is  mentioned  in 
2  Chron.  xi.  6  and  in  the  Greek  version  of  Joshua  xv.  59*,  in  both 
places  associated  with  Beth-lehem. 

xv.  9-19.  Samson  at  Lehi.  The  Philistines  are  resolved  to 
capture  Samson,  and  send  an  army  into  Judah's  land.  The  men 
of  Judah  in  alarm  determine  to  hand  over  Samson  in  bonds  to  the 
Philistines.  To  this  Samson  agrees,  but  on  arrival  at  the  Philistine 
camp  bursts  his  bonds  and  with  the  jawbone  of  an  ass  makes  havoc. 
A  city  and  a  well  receive  their  names  from  his  deeds. 

9.  Lehi  (meaning  'a  jawbone')  was  probably  in  the  low-lying 

K  2 


i32  JUDGES  16.  n-K.     J 

said,  Why  are  ye  come  up  against  us  ?  And  they  said,  To 
bind  Samson  are  we  come  up,  to  do  to  him  as  he  hath 

1 1  done  to  us.  Then  three  thousand  men  of  Judah  went 
down  to  the  cleft  of  the  rock  of  Etam,  and  said  to 
Samson,  Knowest  thou  not  that  the  Philistines  are  rulers 
over  us  ?  what  then  is  this  that  thou  hast  done  unto  us  ? 
And  he  said  unto  them,  As  they  did  unto  me,  so  have  I 

12  done  unto  them.  And  they  said  unto  him,  We  are  come 
down  to  bind  thee,  that  we  may  deliver  thee  into  the 
hand  of  the  Philistines.  And  Samson  said  unto  them, 
Swear  unto  me,  that  ye  will  not  fall  upon  me  yourselves. 

13  And  they  spake  unto  him,  saying,  No ;  but  we  will  bind 
thee  fast,  and  deliver  thee  into  their  hand:  but  surely 
we  will  not  kill  thee.     And  they  bound  him  with  two 

14  new  ropes,  and  brought  him  up  from  the  rock.  When 
he  came  unto  Lehi,  the  Philistines  shouted  as  they  met 
him ;  and  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon 
him,  and  the  ropes  that  were  upon  his  arms  became  as 
flax  that  was  burnt  with  fire,  and  his  bands  dropped  from 

15  off  his  hands.     And  he  found  a  new  jawbone  of  an  ass, 

hills  (Shephelah)  between  the  Mediterranean  coast  plains  and 
the  high  hill-country  of  Judah,  but  the  exact  district  referred  to 
has  not  been  identified. 

11.  As  Samson  was  a  Danite  the  men  of  Judah  felt  themselves 
under  no  obligation  to  protect  him  at  any  risk  to  themselves. 
The  number  of  men  thought  necessary  for  his  capture  is  evidently 
intended  to  enhance  his  reputation. 

what  then  is  this  that  thou  hast  done  unto  us  ?  Why 
have  you  put  us  in  the  awkward  position  of  being  charged  with 
concealing  an  enemy,  and  so  brought  this  invasion  into  our 
territory  ? 

13.  new  ropes,  as  in  xvi.  11. 

14.  the  spirit  of  the  LORD  :  see  iii.  10. 

as  flax  that  was  burnt  with  fire :  lit.  \  which  had  burned 
in  fire.'  His  bonds  had  no  more  strength  than  the  ashes  of  flax. 
Cf.  xvi.  9. 

15.  a  new  jawbone.  The  word  translated  'new  '  means  '  fresh  ' 
(as  in  Isa.  i.  6  marg.),  and  so  here  means  tough  and  not  dry  and 


JUDGES  15.  16-18.     J  133 

and  put  forth  his  hand,  and  took  it,  and  smote  a 
thousand  men  therewith.     And  Samson  said,  16 

With  the  jawbone  of  an  ass,  heaps  upon  heaps, 
With  the  jawbone  of  an  ass  have  I  smitten  a  thou- 
sand men. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  17 
speaking,  that  he  cast  away  the  jawbone  out  of  his  hand ; 
and  that  place  was  called  Ramath-lehi.    And  he  was  sore  is 
athirst,  and  called  on  the  Lord,  and  said,  Thou  hast  given 
this  great  deliverance  by  the  hand  of  thy  servant :  and 
now  shall  I  die  for  thirst,  and  fall  into  the  hand  of  the 

brittle.  Such  things  are  often  to  be  seen  lying  about  in  public 
places  in  the  East.  With  the  jawbone  of  a  camel  a  follower  of 
Mohammed  once  killed  an  unbeliever. 

and  smote  a  thousand  men  therewith.  There  is  a  striking 
resemblance  between  the  exploits  of  three  men  among  Philistines. 
In  2  Sam.  xxiii.  nff.  the  Philistines  were  gathered  together  'to 
Lehi'  (according  to  the  correct  text.  The  English  version  has 
'  into  a  troop ')  and  Shammah  slew  the  Philistines.  In  Judges  iii. 
31  Shamgar  slew  six  hundred  Philistines,  and  here  Samson  slays 
a  thousand.  It  is  curious  that  the  first  half  of  the  heroes'  names 
is  the  same  in  each  case.  (As  the  vowels  were  not  written  in 
Hebrew  the  names  appear  as  Shmh,  Shmgr,  and  Shmsn.)  It  is 
possible  that  all  are  variants  of  one  tradition. 

16.  The  literal  translation  of  this  curious  verse  is  : — 

With  the  ass's  jawbone,  a  heap,  two  (separate)  heaps ; 
With  the  ass's  jawbone  I  have  struck  down  a  thousand  men. 

In  the  first  line,  however,  the  Greek  version  seems  to  be  right  in 
pronouncing  the  last  word  with  different  vowels  in  the  Hebrew, 
and  thus  making  it  a  verb.  It  gives  a  meaning  to  the  word  that 
is  unknown  in  Hebrew  :  '  I  annihilated  them.'  Keeping  the  usual 
meaning  we  should  have  for  the  whole  line:  'With  the  ass's 
jawbone  I  heaped  them  in  heaps.'  The  jingle  of  the  Hebrew 
(four  words  have  the  same  consonants)  cannot  be  reproduced  in 
English. 

17.  that  place  was  called  expresses  the  meaning  better  than 
the  marginal  '  he  called  that  place.' 

Ramath-lehi:  i.e.  'Jawbone-hill.'  The  first  part  of  the 
name  is  found  also  in  '  Ramoth-gilead '  and  in  Ramoth-negeb 
(1  Sam.  xxx.  27,  where  the  English  version  has  '  Ramoth  of  the 
South '). 


i34  JUDGES  15.  19— 16.  2.     JDJ 

19  uncircumcised.  But  God  clave  the  hollow  place  that  is 
in  Lehi,  and  there  came  water  thereout;  and  when  he 
had  drunk,  his  spirit  came  again,  and  he  revived :  where- 
fore the  name  thereof  was  called  En-hakkore,  which  is  in 

20  Lehi,  unto  this  day.  [D]  And  he  judged  Israel  in  the 
days  of  the  Philistines  twenty  years. 

16      [J]  And  Samson  went  to  Gaza,  and  saw  there  an  harlot, 

2  and  went  in  unto  her.     And  it  ivas  told  the  Gazites, 

saying,  Samson  is  come  hither.     And  they  compassed 

him  in,  and  laid  wait  for  him  all  night  in  the  gate  of  the 

18.  the  uncircumcised  :  see  xiv.  3. 

19.  the  hollow  place.  The  Hebrew  word  means  'a  mortar,' 
as  in  Prov.  xxvii.  22.  Here  it  is  evidently  a  hollow  in  the  ground, 
resembling  a  mortar  in  shape. 

En-hakkore,  that  is,  '  the  spring  of  the  caller,'  according  to 
this  tradition  so  called  because  Samson  'called  on  the  Lord.'  But 
'the  caller'  is  the  Hebrew  name  for  the  partridge  (as  in  1  Sam. 
xxvi.  20;  Jer.  xvii.  n),  and  the  name  originally  belonging  to  this 
spring  was  probably  '  Partridge  Spring.' 

20.  Here  the  Deuteronomic  editor  closes  the  account  of  Samson 
as  a  judge.  Compared  with  his  close  to  the  accounts  of  other 
judges  (for  example  in  hi.  29,  30,  iv.  23,  24,  and  v.  31°,  viii.  28) 
it  is  a  meagre  record.  It  is  not  surprising.  The  only  wonder 
is  how  the  editor  could  persuade  himself  to  seriously  put  the 
Samson  stories  in  the  same  category  as  those  of  a  Deborah  and 
Barak,  a  Gideon  and  a  Jephthah. 

xvi.  1-3.     Samson  at  Gaza. 

1.  Gaza:  a  fortified  town  in  the  plain  of  the  Mediterranean 
coast,  about  two  miles  from  the  sea,  was  on  the  high-road  from 
Egypt  to  the  north,  and  so  was  a  city  of  the  first  importance  for 
centuries  before  the  Philistines  gained  possession  of  this  district. 
This  importance  it  retained  until  its  capture  by  Alexander  the 
Great.  The  city  lies  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Samson's  home, 
but  it  is  quite  in  accord  with  the  nature  of  folklore  stories  to  find 
Samson  wandering  about  freely  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies,  far  from 
his  home.  The  latter  part  of  this  verse  explains  how  he  came  to 
allow  himself  to  be  shut  up  in  the  city  at  night. 

2.  This  verse  is  incomplete  and  confused.  At  the  beginning  it 
is  necessary  to  supply  'And  it  was  told'  (not  in  the  Hebrew). 
The  sentence  'And  they  surrounded  (with  no  object  in  Hebrew), 
and  they  laid  wait  for  him  in  the  gate  of  the  city,'  seems  to  have 


JUDGES  16.  2-5.     J  135 

city,  and  were  quiet  all  the  night,  saying,  Let  be  till 
morning  light,  then  we  will  kill  him.  And  Samson  lay  3 
till  midnight,  and  arose  at  midnight,  and  laid  hold  of  the 
doors  of  the  gate  of  the  city,  and  the  two  posts,  and 
plucked  them  up,  bar  and  all,  and  put  them  upon  his 
shoulders,  and  carried  them  up  to  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain that  is  before  Hebron. 

And  it  came  to  pass  afterward,  that  he  loved  a  woman  4 
in  the  valley  of  Sorek,  whose  name  was  Delilah.  And  5 
the  lords  of  the  Philistines  came  up  unto  her,  and  said 
unto  her,  Entice  him,  and  see  wherein  his  great  strength 
lieth,  and  by  what  means  we  may  prevail  against  him, 
that  we  may  bind  him  to  afflict  him  :  and  we  will  give 
thee  every  one  of  us  eleven   hundred  pieces  of  silver. 


been'  interpolated  later,  for  it  is  evident  that  the  Gazites  trusted 
to  the  gates  to  keep  him  from  escaping,  while  they  hoped  to  kill 
him  in  the  morning. 

3.  The  gate  would  consist  of  two  doors  or  wings,  each  turning 
on  pins  and  flanked  by  two  posts.  The  bar  was  probably  put 
across  the  wings  from  post  to  post,  thus  making  one  structure  of 
the  whole.     Samson  carries  off  this  whole  mass. 

the  mountain  that  is  before  Hebron,  that  is,  the  hill  which 
the  traveller  from  Gaza  reaches  just  before  arriving  at  Hebron. 
The  distance  of  Hebron  from  Gaza  is  about  thirty-eight  miles. 

xvi.  4-22.  Samson's  fall  and  imprisonment.  By  a  woman 
Samson  is  induced  to  tell  the  secret  of  his  strength.  He  is  shorn 
of  his  long  hair  and  then  taken,  blinded,  and  imprisoned  by  the 
Philistines. 

4.  the  valley  of  Sorek  is  the  valley  now  called  Wady  es- 
Surar,  which  extends  from  a  few  miles  west  of  Jerusalem  to  the 
coast  plains.  Zorah,  Beth-shemesh,  and  Timnah  were  all  in  this 
valley  (see  on  xiii.  2). 

5.  the  lords  of  the  Philistines,  probably  here  as  in  iii.  3 
five  in  number,  that  is,  the  lords  of  Gaza,  Ashdod,  Ashkelon,  Gath, 
and  Ekron  (Joshua  xiii.  3  ;  1  Sam.  vi.  17).  According  to  the 
latter  part  of  the  verse,  each  of  these  lords  is  to  pay  Delilah  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling  for  the  betrayal  of  Samson 
fcf.  xvii.  2). 


136  JUDGES  16.  6-13.     J 

6  And  Delilah  said  to  Samson,  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee, 
wherein   thy  great  strength    lieth,   and  wherewith  thou 

7  mightest  be  bound  to  afflict  thee.  And  Samson  said 
unto  her,  If  they  bind  me  with  seven  green  withes  that 
were  never  dried,  then  shall  I  become  weak,  and  be  as 

8  another  man.  Then  the  lords  of  the  Philistines  brought 
up  to  her  seven  green  withes  which  had  not  been  dried, 

9  and  she  bound  him  with  them.  Now  she  had  liers  in 
wait  abiding  in  the  inner  chamber.  And  she  said  unto 
him,  The  Philistines  be  upon  thee,  Samson.  And  he 
brake  the  withes,  as  a  string  of  tow  is  broken  when  it 

10  toucheth  the  fire.  So  his  strength  was  not  known.  And 
Delilah  said  unto  Samson,  Behold,  thou  hast  mocked  me, 
and  told  me  lies :   now  tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  wherewith 

11  thou  mightest  be  bound.  And  he  said  unto  her,  If  they 
only  bind  me  with  new  ropes  wherewith  no  work  hath 
been  done,  then  shall  I  become  weak,  and  be  as  another 

12  man.  So  Delilah  took  new  ropes,  and  bound  him  there- 
with, and  said  unto  him,  The  Philistines  be  upon  thee, 
Samson.  And  the  liers  in  wait  were  abiding  in  the  inner 
chamber.     And  he  brake  them  from  off  his  arms  like  a 

13  thread.     And  Delilah  said  unto  Samson,  Hitherto  thou 

xvi.  6-9.  Delilah's  first  attempt  to  learn  the  secret  of  Samson's 
strength.  Samson's  first  answer  to  the  eager  questioning  of  Delilah 
is  that  if  he  is  bound  with  seven  cords  of  fresh  sinews,  that  have  not 
been  dried,  but  are  still  tough  and  capable  of  being  knotted  closely, 
his  strength  will  be  of  no  avail.  There  is  also  probably  some 
particular  power  supposed  to  lie  in  the  number  seven.  The 
words  '  to  afflict  thee  '  must  surely  have  been  put  in  here  (verse  6) 
by  mistake  from  verse  5,  for  they  would  have  made  Samson 
suspicious,  and  they  do  not  occur  in  Delilah's  further  questionings 
in  verses  10,  13.  Philistines  were  lying  in  wait  in  the  chamber 
to  see  what  would  happen.  Doubtless  they  remained  there  on 
this  and  the  next  two  occasions. 

xvi.  10-12.  Delilah's  second  attempt.  This  time  the  trial  is  made 
with  new  ropes  (as  in  xv.  13). 

xvi.  13,  14.   The  third  attempt.     The  text  here  is  incomplete,  for 


JUDGES  16.  14-16.     J  137 

hast  mocked  me,  and  told  me  lies :  tell  me  wherewith 
thou  mightest  be  bound.  And  he  said  unto  her,  If  thou 
weavest  the  seven  locks  of  my  head  with  the  web.  And  14 
she  fastened  it  with  the  pin,  and  said  unto  him,  The 
Philistines  be  upon  thee,  Samson.  And  he  awaked  out 
of  his  sleep,  and  plucked  away  the  pin  of  the  beam,  and 
the  web.  And  she  said  unto  him,  How  canst  thou  say,  15 
I  love  thee,  when  thine  heart  is  not  with  me  ?  thou  hast 
mocked  me  these  three  times,  and  hast  not  told  me 
wherein  thy  great  strength  lieth.     And  it  came  to  pass,  16 

at  the  end  of  verse  13  the  last  part  of  Samson's  words  has  fallen 
out,  and  at  the  beginning  of  verse  14  the  first  part  of  Delilah's 
action.  With  the  help  of  the  Greek  versions  we  may  restore  : 
4  If  thou  weavest  the  seven  locks  of  my  head  with  the  web,  and 
makest  (the  whole)  fast  with  the  pin,  then  I  shall  be  weak  and 
like  any  other  man.'  And  Delilah  made  him  sleep,  and  wove  the 
seven  locks  of  his  head  with  the  web,  and  made  it  fast  with  the 
pin,'  &c.  The  '  beam '  of  the  loom  seems  to  have  been  near 
Samson's  head  as  he  slept.  Delilah  wove  his  hair  into  the  web, 
beating  it  tight  with  the  pin  (or  peg).  When  aroused,  Samson 
sprang  up  and  dragged  up  by  his  hair  the  beam  and  the  web 
together.  The  words  'the  pin  of  must  be  left  out.  The 
Hebrew  word  is  ungrammatical,  and  has  evidently  been  put  in 
by  mistake. 

xvi.  15-22.  Delilah'' s  fourth  attempt  successful.  The  capture  of 
Samson.  Wearied  out  by  the  importunity  of  the  woman,  Samson 
tells  Delilah  that  the  secret  of  his  strength  lies  in  his  hair.  If 
that  is  cut  he  will  become  like  any  other  man.  Delilah  recognizes 
at  once  that  this  time  she  has  learned  the  truth,  and  summons  the 
Philistines,  who  are  also  now  convinced  of  success  and  bring 
the  money  for  Delilah  with  them.  She  also  calls  a  man  who 
shaves  Samson's  head  when  he  is  asleep.  Samson,  roused  by 
the  usual  alarm,  is  this  time  seized.  He  is  blinded,  taken  to  Gaza, 
bound  in  chains  of  brass,  and  set  to  grind  in  prison. 

15.  thine  heart  is  not  with  me.  The  heart  here  is  the  seat 
of  knowledge  rather  than  of  affection.  Compare  '  all  his  heart ' 
in  verses  17,  18. 

This  time  Delilah  seems  to  realize  that  Samson  cannot  be 
overcome  by  being  bound  in  any  way,  and  so  omits  the  latter 
part  of  the  questions  in  verses  6,  10,  13.  She  asks  this  now  only 
concerning  the  source  of  the  greatness  of  his  strength. 


138  JUDGES  16.  i7-2i.     J 

when  she  pressed  him  daily  with  her  words,  and  urged 

17  him,  that  his  soul  was  vexed  unto  death.  And  he  told 
her  all  his  heart,  and  said  unto  her,  There  hath  not  come 
a  razor  upon  mine  head ;  for  I  have  been  a  Nazirite  unto 
God  from  my  mother's  womb  :  if  I  be  shaven,  then  my 
strength  will  go  from  me,  and  I  shall  become  weak,  and 

18  be  like  any  other  man.  And  when  Delilah  saw  that  he 
had  told  her  all  his  heart,  she  sent  and  called  for  the 
lords  of  the  Philistines,  saying,  Come  up  this  once,  for 
he  hath  told  me  all  his  heart.  Then  the  lords  of  the 
Philistines  came  up  unto  her,  and  brought  the  money  in 

19  their  hand.  And  she  made  him  sleep  upon  her  knees ; 
and  she  called  for  a  man,  and  shaved  off  the  seven  locks 
of  his  head  ;  and  she  began  to  afflict  him,  and  his  strength 

20  went  from  him.  And  she  said,  The  Philistines  be  upon 
thee,  Samson.  And  he  awoke  out  of  his  sleep,  and  said, 
I  will  go  out  as  at  other  times,  and  shake  myself.     But 

21  he  wist  not  that  the  Lord  was  departed  from  him.  And 
the  Philistines  laid  hold  on  him,  and  put  out  his  eyes ; 

17.  a  Nazirite:  see  xiii.  7.  There  is  no  mention  of  the 
strength  resulting  from  his  being  a  Nazirite  in  the  angel's 
instructions  to  Manoah.  The  connexion  of  the  physical  strength 
with  the  hair  is  thoroughly  materialistic.  Those  who  regard 
Samson  as  the  sun  consider  the  hair  to  represent  the  rays. 

19.  and  (she)  shaved  off.  Probably  we  should  read  'and  he 
(the  man)  shaved  off,'  as  the  man  seems  to  be  summoned  for  this 
purpose. 

20.  and  shake  myself.  It  seems  as  if  we  must  suppose  that 
Delilah  had  bound  Samson  in  some  way.  The  Philistines  would 
probably  wish  to  see  that  he  really  had  lost  his  power  of  shaking 
himself  free  before  they  came  out  of  their  hiding-place. 

the  LORD  was  departed  from  him.  The  presence  of 
Yahweh  in  Samson  is  conceived  as  indissolubly  connected  with 
the  retention  of  his  long  hair. 

21.  The  blinding  of  prisoners  is  represented  on  Assyrian  tablets 
(cf.  2  Kings  xxv.  7).  Another  form  of  mutilation  is  mentioned 
in  i.  6.  Grinding  was  woman's  work,  therefore  in  the  eyes  of  an 
Eastern  doubly  contemptible  for  a  strong  man. 


JUDGES  16.  22-24.     J  139 

and  they  brought  him  down  to  Gaza,  and  bound  him 
with  fetters  of  brass ;   and  he  did  grind  in   the  prison 
house.     Howbeit  the  hair  of  his  head   began  to  grow  22 
again  after  he  was  shaven. 

And  the  lords  of  the  Philistines  gathered  them  together  23 
for  to  offer  a  great  sacrifice  unto  Dagon  their  god,  and  to 
rejoice:   for  they  said,  Our  god  hath  delivered  Samson 
our  enemy  into  our  hand.     And  when  the  people  saw  24 

xvi.  23-31.  The  death  of  Samson.  In  verse  22  we  learn  that 
Samson's  hair  began  to  grow  again  after  he  was  shaven.  The 
Philistines  evidently  forgot  that  this  meant  new  strength  coming 
to  him,  hence  the  disaster.  At  a  feast  of  Dagon  their  god  the 
thoughts  of  all  turned  to  Samson,  and  the  people  broke  out  into  a 
song  to  their  god  because  their  enemy  was  in  their  hands.  As 
the  feast  progressed  and  the  people  became  merrier,  they  called 
for  the  production  of  Samson  that  they  might  jeer  at  him.  Led 
by  a  boy,  he  was  placed  before  the  people  between  two  of  the 
pillars  supporting  the  flat  roof  of  the  hall.  But  as  he  stood  he 
felt  his  strength  again,  and  the  wild  desire  for  vengeance  rose  in 
him.  With  a  passionate  cry  to  Yahweh  he  grasped  the  two 
main  pillars  and  bowed  himself  with  them.  The  roof  with  the 
three  thousand  men  on  it  crashed  upon  him  and  those  in  the  hall ; 
and  '  the  dead  whom  he  slew  in  his  dying  were  more  than  those 
whom  he  slew  in  his  life.'  The  Philistines  apparently  did  not 
continue  the.ir  hatred  of  him  to  his  dead  body.  His  brothers  took 
him  to  their  own  place  and  buried  him  near  Zorah. 

23.  Dagon,  as  we  know  from  1  Sam.  v.  2  ff.,  was  worshipped  in 
Ashdod.  There  were  two  cities  called  Beth-dagon,  i.e.  'Abode 
of  Dagon,'  in  or  near  Philistia  (Joshua  xv.  41,  xix.  27),  and  both 
from  the  Amarna  letters  and  from  a  Phoenician  inscription  we 
gather  that  the  worship  of  this  god  was  widespread  over  the 
Philistine  plains  and  in  other  parts  of  Palestine.  A  god  Dagon 
was  worshipped  also  in  Babylonia.  If  he  is  thus  a  Semitic  god 
it  is  likely  that  he  was  worshipped  here  when  the  Philistines 
came  into  the  land,  and  that  they  worshipped  him  just  as  the 
Hebrews  so  often  worshipped  the  Baals  of  Palestine.  The 
supposition  that  his  image  was  partly  human,  partly  fish-like, 
rests  on  no  certain  evidence.  The  passage  in  1  Sam.  ii  speaks  of 
its  head  and  hands. 

a   great  sacrifice    meant   usually  also  a   great  feast,  as  in 
1  Kings  i.  9ff. 

Our  god  hath  delivered  Samson  our  enemy  into  our  hand. 
The  ascription  of  victories  and  similar  events  to  the  deity  was 


140  JUDGES  16.  25-28.     J 

him,  they  praised  their  god  :  for  they  said,  Our  god  hath 
delivered  into  our  hand  our  enemy,  and  the  destroyer  of 

25  our  country,  which  hath  slain  many  of  us.  And  it  came 
to  pass,  when  their  hearts  were  merry,,  that  they  said,  Call 
for  Samson,  that  he  may  make  us  sport.  And  they  called 
for  Samson  out  of  the  prison  house ;  and  he  made  sport 

26  before  them  :  and  they  set  him  between  the  pillars.  And 
Samson  said  unto  the  lad  that  held  him  by  the  hand, 
Suffer  me  that  I  may  feel  the  pillars  whereupon  the  house 

27  resteth,  that  I  may  lean  upon  them.  Now  the  house  was 
full  of  men  and  women ;  and  all  the  lords  of  the  Phi- 
listines were  there ;  and  there  were  upon  the  roof  about 
three  thousand  men  and  women,  that  beheld  while  Sam- 

28  son  made  sport.     And  Samson  called  unto  the  Lord, 

common  among  the  Semitic  peoples.  Mesha  king  of  Moab  is  just 
as  pious  in  ascribing  his  victory  over  the  Israelites  to  Chemosh 
as  any  Israelite  in  ascribing  to  Yahweh  his  victory  over  Moab. 
Hundreds  of  inscriptions  tell  that  the  god  Ashur  gave  victory  to 
the  Assyrians.  It  was  thus  that  among  them  all  the  deity  was 
made  responsible  for  many  an  immoral  or  unworthy  action. 

24.  Our  god  .  .  .  many  of  us.  These  words  form  a  sort  of 
popular  song  or  jingle  such  as  Arabs  are  fond  of  at  the  present 
day.  Owing  to  their  grammatical  endings  five  words  rh3'me  with 
one  another. 

which  hath  slain  many  of  ns,  lit.  '  who  has  made  many  our 
slain.' 

25.  that  he  may  make  us  sport,  that  he  may  make  laughter 
for  us.  It  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  he  had  to  dance  or  in 
any  way  play  the  buffoon  for  the  people.  The  appearance  of 
the  once  strong  man,  now  blind  and  in  chains,  was  enough  to 
make  them  laugh  and  jeer  when  they  were  '  merry.' 

26.  the  pillars  whereupon  the  house  resteth.  The  house  was 
probably  a  hall  forming  part  of  the  temple  of  Dagon.  It  must  be 
thought  of  as  flat-roofed,  supported  on  columns,  and  probably  open 
to  the  court,  where  the  people  are  feasting. 

27.  all  the  lords  of  the  Philistines  were  the  men  who  had 
hired  Delilah  to  betray  Samson  (see  verse  5). 

three  thousand  men  and  women.  The  Greek  version  reads 
;  seven  hundred.'  Figures  in  such  stories  as  these  are  more  for 
effect  than  with  any  intention  of  being  accurate. 


JUDGES  16.  29— 17.  r.     JAJ  141 

and  said,  O  Lord  God,  remember  me,  I  pray  thee,  and 
strengthen  me,  I  pray  thee,  only  this  once,  O  God,  that 
I  may  be  at  once  avenged  of  the  Philistines  for  my  two 
eyes.     And  Samson  took  hold  of  the  two  middle  pillars  29 
upon  which  the  house  rested,  and  leaned  upon  them,  the 
one  with  his  right  hand,  and  the  other  with  his  left.    And  30 
Samson  said,  Let  me  die  with  the  Philistines.     And  he 
bowed  himself  with  all  his  might ;   and  the  house  fell 
upon  the  lords,  and  upon  all  the  people  that  were  therein. 
So  the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death  were  more  than 
they  which  he  slew  in  his  life.     Then  his  brethren  and  31 
all  the  house  of  his  father  came  down,  and  took  him, 
and  brought  him  up,  and  buried  him  between  Zorah  and 
Eshtaol  in  the  buryingplace  of  Manoah  his  father.     [A] 
And  he  judged  Israel  twenty  years. 

[J]  And  there  was  a  man  of  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  17 

28.  At  the  end  of  this  verse  the  marginal  reading  is  the 
correct  translation  of  the  Hebrew.  The  vengeance  he  is  about 
to  take  will  not  atone  for  the  loss  of  his  hvo  eyes,  but  it  will 
at  any  rate  be  enough  for  one  eye. 

30.  Let  me  die,  lit.  f  Let  my  soul  die,'  the  soul  being  that 
living,  breathing  something  which  ceases  to  exist  at  death. 

31.  Zorah  and  Eshtaol:  see  xiii.  2,  25. 

xvii-xviii.     First  Supplement  to  the  Book  of  Judges. 

xvii-xviii.  The  story  of  Micah  and  the  migration  of  the  Danites. 
The  main  interest  in  the  following  narrative  is  clearly  in  the  fact 
that  at  Dan,  far  away  in  the  north,  there  was  up  to  the  time 
of  '  the  captivity  of  the  land '  (xviii.  30)  a  famous  shrine  with 
an  image  which  was  served  by  descendants  of  Moses.  Chapter 
xvii,  with  its  story  of  Micah  and  his  'house  of  gods'  (verse  5),  is 
only  here  to  explain  the  origin  of  this  celebrated  image.  Even 
the  story  of  the  migration  of  the  Danites  (in  xviii),  so  interesting 
historically,  is  only  secondary,  the  matter  of  main  interest  being 
that  on  their  way  north  the  Danites  robbed  Micah  alike  of  his 
image  and  his  Levite  priest.  Thus  the  general  title  of  the  two 
chapters  might  well  be  '  The  origin  of  the  shrine  at  Dan.' 

The  narrative  is  unmistakably  old.  The  characterization  of  the 
customs,  and  the  freedom  from  theological  judgement,  testify  to  its 


14?  JUDGES  17.  2.     J 

2  whose  name  was  Micah.     And  he  said  unto  his  mother, 
The  eleven  hundred  pieces  of  silver  that  were  taken  from 

age.  There  is  not  a  trace  of  the  Deuteronomic  editor's  writing. 
This  and  the  fact  that  the  story  would  not  suit  the  editor's  purpose 
in  compiling  his  book  suggest  that  the  Deuteronomic  Book  of 
Judges  came  to  a  close  with  the  story  of  Samson,  and  that  this  narra- 
tive was  inserted  from  an  earlier  collection  of  traditions  before  the 
book  as  a  whole  was  put  into  its  present  position  in  the  Canon. 

It  is  not,  however,  one  tradition  only  that  is  thus  copied,  but,  as 
in  the  case  of  some  of  the  judges,  a  blending  of  at  least  two 
traditions  which  varied  in  language  and  occasionally  in  their  report 
of  the  same  action  (see  Introduction  and  notes). 

xvii.  i-6.  The  origin  of  Micah' s  image.  A  man  named  Micah, 
living  in  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim,  had  stolen  a  sum  of  eleven 
hundred  pieces  of  silver  from  his  mother.  She  in  anger  had 
cursed  the  unknown  thief.  Terrified  by  the  curse,  Micah  restored 
the  silver,  whereupon  his  mother  took  off  the  curse,  and  gave  two 
hundred  pieces  of  the  silver  for  the  making  of  an  image,  which 
was  put  into  Micah's  private  temple.  For  the  service  of  the 
image  Micah  employed  one  of  his  sons  as  priest. 

1.  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim.  See  ii.  9.  No  further 
details  are  given  as  to  the  place  where  Micah  lived. 

The  name  Micah  is  a  shortened  form  of  Micaiah,  meaning 
'Who  is  like  Yah? '  (cf.  the  name  Michael,  'Who  is  like  El?'). 
Micah  is  none  the  less  a  worshipper  of  Yahweh  because  he  has 
images. 

2-4.  It  is  understood  that  Micah's  mother  had  been  robbed  of 
eleven  hundred  pieces  of  silver  and  that  she  had  laid  a  curse  upon 
the  thief. 

eleven  hundred  pieces  of  silver.  See  xvi.  5.  It  is  strange 
that  exactly  the  same  amount  is  mentioned  here  and  in  the 
Samson  story. 

The  text  from  these  words  to  the  end  of  verse  4  is  very 
confused.  Where  the  English  version  has  '  and  didst  also  speak 
it,'  the  Hebrew  has  'and  didst  also  say,'  while  what  she  said  has 
either  been  omitted  or  must  be  sought  in  another  part  of  these 
verses.  Again,  verses  3  and  4  beghi  with  exactly  the  same  words, 
'  And  he  restored  to  his  mother '  (the  English  version  has  intro- 
duced 'when'  in  verse  4),  so  that  the  restoration  of  the  silver 
is  mentioned  twice.  In  verse  3  the  mother  has  dedicated  the 
whole  of  the  silver  for  an  image,  while  in  verse  4  she  gives 
only  two  hundred  pieces  for  that  purpose.  It  seems  probable 
that  here  two  traditions  have  been  blended  without  a  real 
assimilation.  Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  rearrange  the 
text  so  as  to  give  good  sense.     The  following  (in  the  words  of  the 


JUDGES  17.  3.     J  143 

thee,  about  which  thou  didst  utter  a  curse,  and  didst  also 
speak  it  in  mine  ears,  behold,  the  silver  is  with  me;  I 
took  it.  And  his  mother  said,  Blessed  be  my  son  of  the 
Lord.  And  he  restored  the  eleven  hundred  pieces  of  3 
silver  to  his  mother,  and  his  mother  said,  I  verily  de- 
dicate the  silver  unto  the  Lord  from  my  hand  for  my 
son,  to  make  a  graven  image  and  a  molten  image :  now 

English  version)  is  the  order  adopted  by  Professor  Moore  in  his 
commentary  :  '  He  said  unto  his  mother,  The  eleven  hundred 
pieces  of  silver  that  were  taken  from  thee,  about  which  thou  didst 
utter  a  curse,  and  didst  also  say  in  mine  ears,  I  verily  dedicate 
the  silver  unto  the  Lord  from  my  hand  for  my  son,  to  make 
a  graven  image  and  a  molten  image,  behold  the  silver  is  with  me, 
I  took  it,  and  therefore  I  will  restore  it  unto  thee.  And  his 
mother  said,  Blessed  be  my  son  of  the  Lord.  And  he  restored 
the  (eleven  hundred  pieces  of)  silver  to  his  mother,  who  took  two 
hundred  pieces  of  silver,  and  gave  them  to  the  founder,'  &c. 
Some  think  that  the  words  of  the  curse  have  been  omitted 
purposely  by  the  editor,  and  that  the  words  '  I  dedicate  . . .  molten 
image  '  should  follow  '  Blessed  be  my  son  of  the  Lord.'  In  the 
first  alternative  the  curse  consists  in  her  giving  the  money  to 
Yahweh  and  so  leaving  Him  to  punish  the  thief  for  what  by  her 
gift  has  become  sacrilege.  In  the  second  alternative  the  mother 
dedicates  the  money  to  Yahweh  in  gratitude  for  her  son's  con- 
fession and  the  restoration. 

thou  didst  utter  a  curse.  This  does  not  mean  the  use  of 
bad  language  or  the  mere  expression  of  an  evil  wish,  but  was 
a  committing  of  the  punishment  of  the  thief  to  the  deity.  The 
power  of  a  curse  was  believed  to  be  very  real,  and  on  the 
restoration  of  the  money  Micah's  mother  takes  off  the  curse  by 
the  blessing. 

3.  a  graven  image  and  a  molten  image.  The  word  trans- 
lated '  graven  image '  means  an  image  of  wood  or  stone,  prepared 
by  hewing  or  cutting.  The  second  word  certainly  means  'a 
molten  image '  in  many  passages  of  the  O.  T.  If  that  is  the 
meaning  here,  we  must  suppose  that  it  has  been  introduced  from 
a  second  tradition,  for  it  is  clear  that  one  image  only  is  intended. 
(Notice  '  it  was  in  the  house  of  Micah  '  in  verse  4,  and  the  mention 
of  'the  graven  image'  only  in  xviii.  30,  31.)  But  the  word  used 
means  originally  'material  that  is  melted,  or  molten  work,' 
and  as  graven  images  were  sometimes  covered  with  metal  (Deut. 
vii.  25"),  the  whole  phrase  may  simply  mean  an  idol  of  wood  with 
a  silver  covering. 


i44  JUDGES  17.  4-6.     J 

4  therefore  I  will  restore  it  unto  thee.  And  when  he  re- 
stored the  money  unto  his  mother,  his  mother  took  two 
hundred  pieces  of  silver,  and  gave  them  to  the  founder, 
who  made  thereof  a  graven  image  and  a  molten  image : 

5  and  it  was  in  the  house  of  Micah.  And  the  man  Micah 
had  an  house  of  gods,  and  he  made  an  ephod,  and  tera- 
phim,  and  consecrated  one  of  his  sons,  who  became  his 

6  priest.  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel :  every 
man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes. 

4.  the  money,  lit.  '  the  silver.' 

two  hundred  pieces.  The  editor  does  not  attempt  to 
reconcile  this  action  with  the  woman's  previous  statement  that  she 
had  dedicated  the  eleven  hundred  pieces  for  this  purpose. 

the  founder,  the  smelter  or  silversmith. 

5.  an  house  of  gods,  i.  e.  a  temple  or  shrine.  The  same 
expression  is  used  of  the  temple  at  Shiloh  in  xviii.  31. 

an  ephod,  and  teraphim.  For  the  ephod  see  viii.  27.  It 
was  an  idol  used  chiefly  for  purposes  of  divination.  The  teraphim 
on  the  other  hand  were  household  gods.  Rachel  stole  her 
father's  teraphim  when  she  left  home,  so  as  to  have  the  benefit  of 
their  influence  in  her  husband's  household  (Gen.  xxxi.  19,  30. 
34,  35).  Michal  put  the  teraphim  into  the  bed  to  make  Saul's 
servants  believe  that  David  was  there  (1  Sam.  xix.  13-17)  ;  hence 
it  would  seem  that  they  were,  in  part  at  least,  in  human  form. 
According  to  1  Sam.  xv.  23  they  were  regarded  as  evil  at  an 
early  period,  but  Hosea  (in.  4)  mentions  them  without  condemning 
them,  and  they  existed  up  to  exilic  times  (Zech.  x.  2).  The  name 
by  which  they  were  called  is  of  uncertain  meaning,  and  is 
connected  by  some  with  the  '  refaim '  or  shades  of  the  lower 
world,  in  which  case  they  are  supposed  to  be  connected  with 
ancestor- worship. 

consecrated,  or  as  in  margin  'filled  the  hand  of,'  a  Hebrew 
idiom  meaning  'employed,'  used  of  priests.  Originally  it  may 
have  meant  to  fill  the  hand  with  money,  that  is,  wages,  or  with 
the  office,  or  as  has  been  suggested,  but  with  less  probability, 
with  the  sacrifice  (as  a  consecration  to  office).  Just  as  Micah 
consecrated  his  son  here,  so  the  men  of  Kirjath-jearim  consecrated 
Eleazar  the  son  of  Abinadab  to  keep  the  ark  of  Yahweh  (r  Sam. 
vii.  1). 

6.  The  editor  in  these  words  explains  how  it  was  that  such 
unlawful  things  (from  the  point  of  view  of  the  time  when  he  was 
writing1)  were  done  among  the  Hebrews.  Cf.  xviii.  i;  xix.  1, 
xxi.  25. 


JUDGES  17.  7-ic.     J  i4S 

And  there  was  a  young  man  out  of  Beth-lehem-judah,    7 
of  the  family  of  Judah,  who  was  a  Levite,  and  he  so- 
journed there.     And  the  man  departed  out  of  the  city,    8 
out  of  Beth-lehem-judah,  to  sojourn  where  he  could  find 
a  place-,  and  he  came  to  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim  to 
the  house  of  Micah,  as  he  journeyed.     And  Micah  said   9 
unto  him,  Whence  comest  thou  ?  And  he  said  unto  him, 
I  am  a  Levite  of  Beth-lehem-judah,  and  I  go  to  sojourn 
where  I  may  find  a  place.     And  Micah  said  unto  him,  10 
Dwell  with  me,  and  be  unto  me  a  father  and  a  priest, 

xvii.  7-13.  Micah  secures  a  Levite  as  priest  for  his  shrine.  A  young 
Judahite  of  Beth-lehem,  a  Levite  by  profession,  was  wandering 
through  the  country  seeking  a  place  in  which  to  sojourn.  Passing 
through  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim  he  happened  to  come  to 
Micalvs  house.  When  Micah  learned  that  he  was  a  Levite  he 
immediately  offered  him  a  good  salary  if  he  would  become  his 
'  father  and  priest.'  The  Levite  agreed,  and  was  installed  as  one 
of  the  family.  Micah  felt  assured,  now  that  he  had  a  Levite  as 
priest,  that  Yahweh  would  be  good  to  him. 

7.  Beth-lehem-judah,  so  called  to  distinguish  it  from  other 
Beth-lehems  (a  Beth-lehem  in  Zebulun  is  mentioned  in  Joshua  xix. 
15  ;  cf.  on  Judges  xii.  8-10),  is  five  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  and 
preserves  its  name  in  the  Arabic  form  Beit  Lahm. 

who  was  a  Levite  can  only  mean  here  that  he  was  a  Levite 
by  profession  ;  that  is,  was  trained  specially  for  the  work  of  a 
priest.  By  descent  he  was  of  Judah.  So  Samuel,  an  Ephraimite 
(1  Sam.  i.  1),  was  trained  for  the  priesthood.  At  a  later  time  all 
priests  were  ascribed  to  a  tribe,  Levi,  probably  because  Moses 
belonged  to  that  family. 

he  sojourned  there.  To  '  sojourn '  is  to  live  in  a  tribe  or 
family  not  one's  own,  so  the  word  '  there '  cannot  refer  to 
Beth-lehem.  It  probably  refers  to  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim, 
and  the  sentence  comes  from  another  story  than  that  in  verse  8. 
(See  Introduction). 

8.  as  he  journeyed  :  lit.  '  to  make  his  way,'  a  phrase  which  does 
not  occur  elsewhere,  but  which  may  mean  '  to  accomplish  the 
purpose  of  his  journey.'  The  word  'way'  seems  to  be  used  in 
this  sense  in  xviii.  5. 

10.  a  father  and  a  priest  fas  again  in  xviii.  19).  'A  father' 
is  used  here  to  indicate  the  respect  that  will  be  paid  to  him.  So 
in  Gen.  xlv.  8  Joseph  (also  a  young  man)  says,  '  God  hath  made 
me  a  father  to  Pharaoh.' 


146  JUDGES  17.  n— 18.  i.     J 

and  I  will  give  thee  ten  pieces  of  silver  by  the  year,  and 
a  suit  of  apparel,  and  thy  victuals.     So  the  Levite  went 

1 1  in.  And  the  Levite  was  content  to  dwell  with  the  man  j 
and  the  young  man  was  unto  him  as  one  of  his  sons. 

1 2  And  Micah  consecrated  the  Levite,  and  the  young  man 

13  became  his  priest,  and  was  in  the  house  of  Micah.  Then 
said  Micah,  Now  know  I  that  the  Lord  will  do  me  good, 
seeing  I  have  a  Levite  to  my  priest. 

18  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel :  and  in 
those  days  the  tribe  of  the  Danites  sought  them  an 
inheritance  to   dwell   in ;    for   unto   that   day  their  in- 

ten  pieces  of  silver  :  about  thirty  shillings. 

thy  victuals:  the  same  word  as  in  vi.  4  ('sustenance  '). 

So  the  Levite  went  in :  lit.  '  And  the  Levite  went  (or  went 
away).'  The  text  is  faulty.  The  Greek  version  omits  'the 
Levite  '  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  verse  and  reads  the  two  verbs 
together — 'he  went  and  began  to  dwell,'  &c.  (just  as  in  English 
men  say  '  to  go  and  do  something').  The  Latin  omits  the  words 
altogether. 

13.  It  is  clear  that  while  any  one  might  be  a  priest  in  these 
days  (cf.  verse  5),  it  was  regarded  as  a  piece  of  good  fortune  to 
have  a  Levite,  probably  because  such  an  one  had  been  trained  for 
the  duty,  and  knew  best  how  to  interpret  the  oracles  given  by 
the  deity  at  these  shrines. 

xviii.  1-6.  The  visit  of  Danite  spies  to  Micah' s  house.  The  tribe 
of  Dan  had  not  been  successful  in  obtaining  any  territory  for 
itself,  and,  seeing  no  prospect  of  settling  in  the  district  allotted 
to  it,  determined  to  seek  out  a  place  it  could  seize  and  occupy. 
Five  men  were  sent  from  the  borders  of  the  Philistine  country, 
where  they  were  leading  a  precarious  life,  to  search  through 
Palestine  for  a  possible  abode.  As  they  passed  through  the  hill- 
country  of  Ephraim  they  came  to  Micah's  house.  They  had 
apparently  known  the  Levite  priest  of  Micah  in  earlier  times,  and 
after  hearing  from  him  why  he  had  settled  there,  they  asked  him 
for  an  oracle  concerning  their  journey.  He  assured  them  that  the 
oracle  was  favourable  to  their  purpose. 

1.  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel.  These  words 
naturally  belong  to  the  preceding  verses.  There  was  no  division 
into  chapters  and  verses  in  early  Hebrew  manuscripts. 

their  inheritance  had  not  fallen  unto  them  :  lit.  '  there  had 
not  fallen  to  it  (any  place)  as  an  inheritance.' 


JUDGES  18.  2-7.     J  147 

heritance  had  not  fallen   unto  them   among  the  tribes 
of  Israel.     And  the  children  of  Dan  sent  of  their  family  > 
five  men  from  their  whole  number,  men  of  valour,  from 
Zorah,  and  from  Eshtaol,  to  spy  out  the  land,  and  to 
search  it ;  and  they  said  unto  them,  Go,  search  the  land : 
and  they  came  to  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  unto  the 
house  of  Micah,  and  lodged  there.     When  they  were  by  3 
the  house  of  Micah,  they  knew  the  voice  of  the  young 
man  the  Levite :  and  they  turned  aside  thither,  and  said 
unto  him,  Who  brought  thee  hither?   and  what  doest 
thou  in  this  place  ?  and  what  hast  thou  here  ?  And  he  4 
said  unto  them,  Thus  and  thus  hath  Micah  dealt  with 
me,  and  he  hath  hired  me,  and  I  am  become  his  priest. 
And  they  said  unto  him,  Ask  counsel,  we  pray  thee,  of  5 
God,  that  we  may  know  whether  our  way  which  we  go 
shall  be  prosperous.     And  the  priest  said  unto  them,  Go  6 
in  peace :  before  the  Lord  is  your  way  wherein  ye  go. 
Then  the  five  men  departed,  and  came  to  Laish,  and  7 

2.  of  their  family :  more  correctly  '  of  their  clan/  or  as  in  the 
Greek '  clans.' 

Zorah  and  Eshtaol.     See  on  xiii.  25. 
lodged:  spent  the  night. 

3.  they  knew  the  voice  of  the  youngf  man  the  Levite.  They 
recognized  his  voice,  implying  either  that  they  had  known  him 
before  he  came  to  Micah,  or  that  they  heard  him  performing  service 
and  recognized  that  he  was  a  Levite. 

5.  Ask  counsel,  we  pray  thee,  of  God :  lit.  '  Ask,  now,  of  God,' 
exactly  as  in  i.  1,  except  that  '  God '  ("Elohini)  is  used  here, 
Yahweh  in  the  earlier  passage.  For  different  ways  in  which 
Yahweh's  will  was  sought  see  i.  1.  That  oracles  might  be  sought 
at  a  private  shrine  is  evident  from  viii.  27. 

6.  before  the  LORD  is  your  way :  i.  e.  your  journey  is  Under 
His  observation  and  favour. 

xviii.  7-10.  The  discovery  of  Laish  by  the  spies,  and  their  report. 
After  a  journey  of  over  a  hundred  miles  from  their  starting-place 
the  five  Danites  found  a  city  called  Laish  on  the  south  side  of 
Mount  Hermon.  The  people  of  the  city  were  prosperous,  peace- 
ful,  and,   having  no  allies,   were   defenceless.     This  seemed   to 

L   2 


148  JUDGES  18.  8.     J 

saw  the  people  that  were  therein,  how  they  dwelt  in  se- 
curity, after  the  manner  of  the  Zidonians,  quiet  and 
secure :  for  there  was  none  in  the  land,  possessing 
authority,  that  might  put  them  to  shame  in  any  thing, 
and  they  were  far  from  the  Zidonians,  and  had  no 
8  dealings  with    any    man.     And   they    came   unto   their 

satisfy  their  requirements,  so  they  returned   to  their  tribe  and 
exhorted  them  to  go  up  and  possess  that  region. 

7.  X>aish:  called  '  Leshem'  in  Joshua  xix.  47,  is  mentioned  by 
this  name  only  in  these  passages,  although,  to  be  consistent, 
'  Laish '  should  be  substituted  for  '  Dan '  in  Gen.  xiv.  14.  Under 
its  new  name  of  '  Dan  ?  (verse  29)  it  is  often  mentioned.  The 
phrase  '  from  Dan  to  Beer-sheba '  is  used  several  times  to  indicate 
the  northern  and  southern  limits  of  Hebrew  possessions.  It  is 
generally  identified  with  the  modern  Tell-el-KadI  ('hill  of  the 
judge  ').  '  Dan  '  in  Hebrew  means  ■  judge ' ;  '  Kadi '  is  the  Arabic  for 
the  same.  This  hill  or  mound  is  505  feet  above  sea-level,  and  from 
it  flow  two  streams  which  form  the  largest  source  of  the  Jordan. 
It  lies  rather  under  thirty  miles  from  Tyre  on  the  west,  and  more 
than  forty  from  Damascus  on  the  north-east.  Of  late  Dr.  G.  A. 
Smith  has  sought  to  identify  Dan  with  the  modern  Banias  (less 
than  an  hour's  journey  from  Tell-el-KadI)  on  the  ground  of  its 
superior  strength  and  position.  Both  identifications  are  found  in 
early  Greek  writers. 

after  the  manner  of  the  Zidonians :  i.  e.  like  the  Phoenicians 
(see  x.  6).  The  mention  of  the  Zidonians  here  and  later  in  this 
verse  (cf.  also  on  v.  17)  suggests  that  Laish  was  a  settlement  of 
Phoenicians.  These  were  not  a  warlike  but  generally  a  com- 
mercial people.  Here,  however,  they  must  have  settled  down  to 
an  agricultural  life. 

there  was  none  in  the  land,  possessing  authority,  that 
might  put  them  to  shame  in  any  thing.  This  literal  translation 
is  unintelligible,  and  the  Hebrew  text  seems  to  be  quite  corrupt. 
The  Greek  and  other  versions  give  no  help.  Three  of  the 
Hebrew  words  are  the  same  as  in  the  last  clause  of  verse  10,  and 
it  is  possible  that  the  whole  clause  there  was  originally  here  also, 
and  that  the  words  translated  '  possessing  authority '  (in  the  Greek 
*  wealth')  are  a  note. 

were  far  from  the  Zidonians.     See  above  under  '  Laish.' 

and  had  no  dealings  with  any  man.  The  word  translated 
'any  man'  is  Adam.  But  some  Greek  MSS.  read  Aram  (the  d 
and  r  are  very  much  alike  in  Hebrew).  As  the  Zidonians  were 
their  neighbours  on  one  side,  and  the  people  of  Aram  (Damascus, 
&c.)  on  the  other,  it  is  possible  that  this  was  the  original  text. 


JUDGES  18.  9-12.     J  149 

brethren  to  Zorah  and  Eshtaol :  and  their  brethren  said 
unto  them,  What  say  ye  ?  And  they  said,  Arise,  and  let  9 
us  go  up  against  them  :  for  we  have  seen  the  land,  and, 
behold,  it  is  very  good :  and  are  ye  still  ?  be  not  slothful 
to  go  and  to  enter  in  to  possess  the  land.  When  ye  go,  10 
ye  shall  come  unto  a  people  secure,  and  the  land  is 
large :  for  God  hath  given  it  into  your  hand ;  a  place 
where  there  is  no  want  of  any  thing  that  is  in  the  earth. 

And  there  set  forth  from  thence  of  the  family  of  the  11 
Danites,  out  of  Zorah  and  out  of  Eshtaol,  six  hundred 
men  girt  with  weapons  of  war.     And  they  went  up,  and  12 
encamped  in  Kiriath-jearim,  in  Judah  :  wherefore  they 

8.  What  say  ye?  The  Hebrew  has  only  '  What  you  ? '  Among 
the  many  suggestions  made  to  give  sense,  the  simplest  is  to 
suppose  that  one  letter  has  fallen  out  of  the  text,  or  perhaps  two 
letters.  In  the  former  case  we  could  read,  '  What  have  you  seen  ? ' 
in  the  latter,  '  What  have  you  found  ? ' 

9.  let  us  go  up  against  them.  Apparently  the  spies  had  been 
sent  to  examine  Laish  or  that  district  specially,  so  that  there  is  no 
need  to  explain  where  they  have  been. 

xviii.  u-27a.  The  migration  of  Danites  and  theft  of  Micah's 
image.  Six  hundred  Danite  men  with  their  families  and  posses- 
sions set  out  for  Laish.  After  camping  at  Kiriath-jearim  they 
came  to  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim,  where  the  five  spies 
suggested  the  appropriation  of  Micah's  celebrated  image.  The 
image  was  accordingly  seized  and  the  Levite  persuaded  to  ac- 
company it  and  become  priest  to  the  Danites.  Micah,  discovering 
his  loss,  pursued,  but  was  compelled  to  turn  back  because  '  they 
were  too  strong  for  him.'  In  this  part  of  the  story  the  accumula- 
tion of  images  (four  names  in  verses  14,  17,  18,  three  in  verse  20) 
seems  to  point  to  the  blending  of  different  traditions,  and  this 
indication  is  strengthened  by  the  account  of  the  theft  (see  below 
and  Introduction). 

12.  Kiriath-jearim  ('  Forests- city ').  The  site  of  this  city  has 
been  identified,  from  the  fifth  century  on,  with  the  modern 
Kuriet  "Enab,  well  known  to  those  who  have  travelled  from  Jaffa 
to  Jerusalem  by  road  as  Abu  Ghosh.  Lately,  however,  it  has 
been  placed  at  Khurbet  'Erma,  about  four  miles  east  of  Beth- 
shemesh.  The  ark  was  preserved  here  for  some  time  later 
(1  Sam.  vii.  1  ff.). 


150  JUDGES  18.  13-18.     J 

called  that  place  Mahaneh-dan,  unto  this  day :  behold,  it 

13  is  behind  Kiriath-jearim.  And  they  passed  thence  unto 
the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  and  came  unto  the  house 

14  of  Micah.  Then  answered  the  five  men  that  went  to 
spy  out  the  country  of  Laish,  and  said  unto  their 
brethren,  Do  ye  know  that  there  is  in  these  houses  an 
ephod,  and  teraphim,  and  a  graven  image,  and  a  molten 
image?    now   therefore  consider  what  ye   have  to  do. 

15  And  they  turned  aside  thither,  and  came  to  the  house  of 
the  young   man   the  Levite,   even   unto   the   house  of 

16  Micah,  and  asked  him  of  his  welfare.  And  the  six 
hundred  men  girt  with  their  weapons  of  war,  who  were 
of  the  children  of  Dan,  stood  by  the  entering  of  the  gate. 

17  And  the  five  men  that  went  to  spy  out  the  land  went  up, 
and  came  in  thither,  and  took  the  graven  image,  and  the 
ephod,  and  the  teraphim,  and  the  molten  image :  and 
the  priest  stood  by  the  entering  of  the  gate  with  the  six 

18  hundred  men  girt  with  weapons  of  war.  And  when 
these  went  into  Micah's  house,  and  fetched  the  graven 

Mahaneh-dan  :  i.  e.  '  Camp  of  Dan,'  lay,  according  to  xiii.  25, 
between  Zorah  and  Eshtaol.  According  to  this  verse  it  lay 
'behind,'  i.e.  west  of  Kiriath-jearim.  The  camping-ground  was 
thus  probably  in  the  Wadi  Surar. 

14.  now  therefore  consider  what  ye  have  to  do:  ///.  'and 
now  know  what  3^ou  will  do,'  as  in  1  Sam.  xxv.  17,  with  the 
addition  of  '  know  and.' 

15.  and  asked  him  of  his  welfare :  and  greeted  him  with  the 
usual  word  ■  Peace.' 

16.  17.  "by  the  entering  of  the  gate :  by  the  opening  of  the 
gate  of  the  town,  as  in  ix.  35.  Here  the  Levite  stood  talking 
with  them,  while  the  five  spies  went  to  the  house,  which  the}' 
already  knew,  and  stole  the  images. 

The  ephod  may  be  the  name  given  in  another  tradition  to 
the  graven  and  molten  image.  Only  this  one  image  is  mentioned 
in  verses  30,  3T.  If  the  teraphim  were  household  gods  (see  on 
xvii.  5)  it  was  a  wanton  deed  to  carry  them  off,  for  they  could 
be  of  no  use  to  the  Danites. 

18.  These  must  refer  to  the  five  men.     This  verse  seems  to  be 


JUDGES  18.  19-27.     J  151 

image,  the  ephod,  and  the  teraphim,  and  the  molten 
image,  the  priest  said  unto  them,  What   do  ye?   And  19 
they  said  unto  him,   Hold  thy  peace,  lay  thine  hand 
upon  thy  mouth,  and  go  with  us,  and  be  to  us  a  father 
and  a  priest :  is  it  better  for  thee  to  be  priest  unto  the 
house  of  one  man,  or  to  be  priest  unto  a  tribe  and  a 
family  in  Israel  ?  And  the  priest's  heart  was  glad,  and  he  20 
took  the  ephod,  and  the  teraphim,  and  the  graven  image, 
and  went  in  the  midst  of  the  people.     So  they  turned  21 
and  departed,  and  put  the  little  ones  and  the  cattle  and 
the  goods  before  them.     When  they  were  a  good  way  22 
from  the  house  of  Micah,  the  men  that  were  in  the 
houses  near  to  Micah's  house  were  gathered  together, 
and  overtook  the  children  of  Dan.     And  they  cried  unto  23 
the  children  of  Dan.     And  they  turned  their  faces,  and 
said  unto  Micah,  What  aileth  thee,  that  thou  comest  with 
such  a  company?  And  he  said,  Ye  have  taken  away  my  24 
gods  which  I  made,  and  the  priest,  and  are  gone  away, 
and  what  have  I  more  ?  and  how  then  say  ye  unto  me. 
What  aileth  thee?  And  the  children  of  Dan  said  unto  25 
him,  Let  not  thy  voice  be  heard  among  us,  lest  angry 
fellows  fall  upon  you,  and  thou  lose  thy  life,  with  the 
lives  of  thy  household.     And  the  children  of  Dan  went  26 
their  way :    and  when  Micah  saw  that  they  were  too 
strong  for  him,  he  turned  and  went  back  unto  his  house. 
And  they  took  that  which  Micah  had  made,  and  the  27 

taken  from  a  tradition  in  which  the  Levite  is  represented  as  being 
in  or  near  the  house,  not  at  the  city  gate  (cf.  the  last  clause  of 
verse  20). 

20.  The  Greek  version  adds  the  molten  image  in  this  verse  also. 

21.  The  right  order  for  defending  the  rear  from  attack. 

22.  The  theft  of  the  images  was  a  loss  to  the  neighbourhood, 
and  not  to  Micah  alone. 

25.  angry  fellows :  men  of  nast}' temper. 

xviii.  27-31.     The  capture  of  Laish,  founding  of  Dan,  and  estab* 


152  JUDGES  18,  28~?)r.     J 

priest  which  he  had,  and  came  unto  Laish,  unto  a  people 
quiet  and  secure,  and  smote  them  with  the  edge  of  the 

28  sword  5  and  they  burnt  the  city  with  fire.  And  there 
was  no  deliverer,  because  it  was  far  from  Zidon,  and 
they  had  no  dealings  with  any  man  \  and  it  was  in  the 
valley  that  lieth  by  Beth-rehob.     And  they  built  the  city, 

29  and  dwelt  therein.  And  they  called  the  name  of  the 
city  Dan,  after  the  name  of  Dan  their  father,  who  was 
born  unto  Israel :    howbeit  the  name  of  the  city  was 

30  Laish  at  the  first.  And  the  children  of  Dan  set  up  for 
themselves  the  graven  image :  and  Jonathan,  the  son  of 
Gershom,  the  son  of  Moses,  he  and  his  sons  were  priests 
to  the  tribe  of  the  Danites  until  the  day  of  the  captivity 

31  of  the  land.  So  they  set  them  up  Micah's  graven  image 
which  he  made,  all  the  time  that  the  house  of  God  was 
in  Shiloh. 

lishment  of  the  image.  On  arriving  in  the  north  the  Danites  easity 
captured  Laish,  which  they  burned.  On  its  site  they  built  a  city 
which  they  called  Dan,  and  in  it  set  up  the  image  they  had  stolen. 
Their  shrine  was  served  by  priests  of  Mosaic  descent  until  '  the 
captivity  of  the  land,'  and  the  image  remained  there  all  the  time 
the  '  house  of  God  was  in  Shiloh.' 

28.  it  was  in  the  valley  that  lieth  by  Beth-rehob :  more 
literally,  '  which  belongs  to  Beth-rehob.'  This  place  is  unknown, 
but  is  mentioned  as  inhabited  by  Syrians  in  2  Sam.  x.  6,  and 
is  probably  the  Rehob  of  Num.  xiii.  21. 

29.  who  was  born  unto  Israel.     See  Gen.  xxx.  5,  6. 

30.  the  son  of  Gershom,  the  son  of  Moses.  Gershom  is 
mentioned  as  a  son  of  Moses  in  Exod.  ii.  22,  xviii.  3.  At  a  later 
time  the  claim  of  Dan  to  possess  a  priesthood  of  Mosaic  descent 
was  an  offence,  and  the  letter  n  was  introduced  into  the  Hebrew 
name  Moses,  thus  changing  it  to  Manasseh.  This  letter  was  not, 
however,  incorporated  into  the  text,  but  was  put  above  the  line, 
and  is  so  printed  in  the  Hebrew  text. 

until  the  day  of  the  captivity  of  the  land :  i.  e.  probably  the 
captivity  of  the  people  in  the  north  by  Tiglath-pileser  in  734-3 
(2  Kings  xv.  29). 

31.  all  the  time  that  the  house  of  God  was  in  Shiloh.  The 
'  house  of  Yahweh  '  in  Shiloh  is  mentioned  in   1  Sam  i.  24,  cf. 


JUDGES  19.  i,  2.     J  153 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  when  there  was  no  19 
king  in  Israel,  that  there  was  a  certain  Levite  sojourning 
on  the  farther  side  of  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  who 
took  to  him  a  concubine  out  of  Beth-lehem-judah.     And  2 

iii.  15.  The  ark  was  lost  in  the  Philistine  wars  (1  Sam.  iv.  it), 
and  the  priests  of  Eli's  house  are  at  Nob  in  1  Sam.  xxi.  1-9  ;  but 
nothing  is  said  of  the  destruction  of  the  temple  there  until  it  is 
mentioned  in  Jer.  vii.  12,  14,  xxvi.  9,  without  any  reference  to  the 
time  when  it  was  destroyed. 

Shiloh.now  Seilun,  on  a  large  round  hill  nine  and  a  half  miles 
north-north-east  of  Beth-el. 

xix-xxi.     Second  Supplement  to  the  Book  of  Judges. 

The  outrage  at  Gibeah  and  war,  against  Benjamin.  A  Levite 
stays  for  a  night  in  a  Benjamite  city  with  his  concubine.  The 
latter  is  so  evilly  treated  by  some  worthless  men  of  the  city  that 
she  is  found  dead  in  the  morning.  The  Levite  divides  her  body 
into  twelve  parts  and  sends  one  to  each  of  the  Hebrew  tribes  as 
a  call  to  vengeance.  The  Hebrews  gather  at  Mizpah,  and  having 
heard  the  Levite's  story  call  upon  the  Benjamites  to  give  up  the 
culprits.  This  they  refuse  to  do  and  war  is  declared.  After 
three  days'  fighting  and  severe  losses  the  tribesmen  annihilate  the 
Benjamites,  all  save  six  hundred  men.  Anxious,  however,  that 
a  tribe  of  Israel  should  not  perish,  they  wish  to  secure  wives 
for  these  six  hundred  warriors.  They  cannot  give  their  own 
daughters,  for  they  have  sworn  not  to  do  so,  therefore  they 
attack  and  destroy  all  the  people  of  Jabesh-gilead  except  the 
virgins,  of  whom  they  secure  four  hundred  for  the  men  of  Ben- 
jamin. These  not  being  sufficient,  the  Benjamites  are  told  to 
lie  in  wait  and  seize  the  maidens  who  come  out  to  dance  during 
a  '  feast  of  Yahweh  '  at  Shiloh.     This  they  also  do. 

xix.  i-ioa.  The  Levite's  visit  to  Beth-lehem.  A  certain  Levite 
sojourning  in  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim  had  a  concubine  who 
quarrelled  with  him,  left  him,  and  returned  to  her  father's  house 
in  Beth-lehem  of  Judah.  After  four  months  the  Levite  went  down 
to  Beth-lehem  to  try  and  persuade  her  to  return  with  him.  Re- 
conciled with  the  woman,  he  remained  in  her  father's  house  for 
five  days,  and  then  the  two  started  on  their  return  home. 
1.  sojourning*,  see  on  xvii.  7. 

on  the  farther  side  of :  in  the  extreme  parts  of,  i.  e.  probably 
or.  the  north  side. 

the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  as  in  ch.  17. 

Beth-lehem-Judah  is  brought  into  connexion  with  a  Levite 
as  in  xvii.  7. 


154  JUDGES  10.  3-8.     J 

his  concubine  played  the  harlot  against  him,  and  went 
away  from  him  unto  her  father's  house  to  Beth-lehem- 

3  judah,  and  was  there  the  space  of  four  months.  And 
her  husband  arose,  and  went  after  her,  to  speak  kindly 
unto  her,  to  bring  her  again,  having  his  servant  with  him, 
and  a  couple  of  asses :  and  she  brought  him  into  her 
father's  house :  and  when  the  father  of  the  damsel  saw 

4  him,  he  rejoiced  to  meet  him.  And  his  father  in  law, 
the  damsel's  father,  retained  him ;  and  he  abode  with 
him  three  days :  so  they  did  eat  and  drink,  and  lodged 

5  there.  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  fourth  day,  that  they 
arose  early  in  the  morning,  and  he  rose  up  to  depart : 
and  the  damsel's  father  said  unto  his  son  in  law,  Comfort 
thine  heart  with  a  morsel  of  bread,  and  afterward  ye  shall 

6  go  your  way.  So  they  sat  down,  and  did  eat  and  drink, 
both  of  them  together  :  and  the  damsel's  father  said  unto 
the  man,  Be  content,  I  pray  thee,  and  tarry  all  night, 

7  and  let  thine  heart  be  merry.  And  the  man  rose  up  to 
depart ;  but  his  father  in  law  urged  him,  and  he  lodged 

8  there  again.  And  he  arose  early  in  the  morning  on  the 
fifth  day  to  depart ;  and  the  damsel's  father  said,  Comfort 
thine   heart,   I  pray  thee,  and  tarry  ye   until  the  day 


2.  played  the  harlot  against  him.  The  text  is  not  certain, 
and  one  is  tempted  to  adopt  the  reading  of  some  Greek  MSS. 
v  was  angry  (or  '  quarrelled  ')  with  him.' 

3.  to  bring-  her  again  is  supported  by  the  Greek  and  other 
versions,  and  is  better  than  the  reading  and  explanation  in  the 
margin. 

rejoiced  to  meet  him :  rather '  met  him  rejoicing,'  or  *  gladly.' 

5.  Compare  the  last  part  of  this  verse  with  Gen.  xviii.  5-8. 
A  '  morsel  of  bread  '  with  Abraham  meant  three  measures  of  fine 
meal,  a  calf  '  tender  and  good,'  with  butter  and  milk.  Probably 
the  '  morsel '  means  little  less  here. 

6.  let  thine  heart  be  merry.  The  same  expression  is  used  of 
the  effects  of  feasting  in  xvi.  25. 

8.  tarry  ye  until  the  day  declineth  :  and  in  verse  9  the  declin* 


JUDGES  19.  9-12.     J  155 

declineth ;  and  they  did  eat,  both  of  them.     And  when  9 
the  man  rose  up  to  depart,  he,  and  his  concubine,  and 
his  servant,  his  father  in  law,  the  damsel's  father,  said 
unto  him,  Behold,  now  the  day  draweth  toward  evening, 
I  pray  you  tarry  all  night :  behold,  the  day  groweth  to 
an  end,  lodge  here,  that  thine  heart  may  be  merry ;  and 
to-morrow  get  you  early  on  your  way,  that  thou  mayest 
go  home.     But  the  man  would  not  tarry  that  night,  but  10 
he  rose  up  and  departed,  and  came  over  against  Jebus 
(the  same  is  Jerusalem) :   and  there  were  with  him  a 
couple  of  asses  saddled;   his  concubine  also  was  with 
him.     When  they  were  by  Jebus,  the  day  was  far  spent;  11 
and  the  servant  said  unto  his  master,  Come,  I  pray  thee, 
and  let  us  turn  aside  into  this  city  of  the  Jebusites,  and 
lodge  in  it.     And  his  master  said  unto  him,  We  will  not  12 
turn  aside  into  the  city  of  a  stranger,  that  is  not  of  the 


ing   day    is   alleged  as  a  reason  for   staying  for  the   night.     A 
thoroughly  Oriental  scene. 

xix.  10-21.  The  journey  to  Gibeah  and  entertainment  there.  The 
Levite,  his  concubine,  and  his  servant  had  only  travelled  a  few 
miles  when  night  began  to  fall  and  the  servant  suggested  that  they 
should  stay  in  Jerusalem.  His  master  refused  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  entirely  a  foreign  city,  but  proposed  to  halt  in  Gibeah  or 
Ramah.  As  the  sun  set  when  they  were  near  Gibeah  they 
entered  this  city  and  awaited  an  invitation  to  hospitality.  But 
the  Benjamites  who  lived  in  Gibeah  were  inhospitable,  and  the 
visitors  remained  in  the  street,  until  an  old  man  of  the  hill-count^' 
of  Ephraim,  who  '  sojourned  '  (cf.  on  xvii.  7)  there,  saw  them  as  he 
returned  from  his  work  and  offered  them  a  lodging  for  the  night. 

10.  Jebus.  This  name  occurs  again  in  1  Chron.  xi.  4,  5 ; 
Joshua  xv.  8,  xviii.  16,  21,  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  the  Jebusites  are  often 
spoken  of  as  inhabiting  Jerusalem  (see  i.  21).  But  the  name  of 
the  city  was  Urusalim  as  early  as  1400  B.  c,  as  we  find  this  name 
in  the  Amarna  letters. 

The  Levite  and  his  company  would  arrive  at  the  hill  of  Jerusalem 
within  two  hours  of  leaving  Beth-lehem. 

12.  that  is  not  of  the  children  of  Israel.  The  Hebrew  is 
unusual  and  ambiguous.     The  marginal  rendering  is  possible,  but 


156  JUDGES  19.  13-17.     J 

children  of  Israel ;   but  we  will  pass  over  to  Gibeah. 

13  And  he  said  unto  his  servant,  Come  and  let  us  draw  near 
to  one  of  these  places ;  and  we  will  lodge  in  Gibeah,  or 

14  in  Ramah.  So  they  passed  on  and  went  their  way;  and 
the  sun  went  down  upon  them  near  to  Gibeah,  which 

!  5  belongeth  to  Benjamin.  And  they  turned  aside  thither, 
to  go  in  to  lodge  in  Gibeah :  and  he  went  in,  and  sat 
him  down  in  the  street  of  the  city  :  for  there  was  no  man 

16  that  took  them  into  his  house  to  lodge.  And,  behold, 
there  came  an  old  man  from  his  work  out  of  the  field  at 
even ;  now  the  man  was  of  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim, 
and  he  sojourned  in  Gibeah  :  but  the  men  of  the  place 

17  were  Benjamites.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw 
the  wayfaring  man  in  the  street  of  the  city ;  and  the  old 
man  said,  Whither  goest  thou  ?  and  whence  comest  thou? 

that  in  the  text  more  probable  ;  '  that '  refers  to  *  city.'  The  sug- 
gestion is  that  in  a  foreign  city  they  could  not  expect  the  same 
kindly  welcome  as  in  a  place  inhabited  by  brother  Israelites. 
Thus  the  actual  treatment  they  receive  in  Gibeah  (verses  15 b, 
22  ff.)  is  made  to  appear  at  its  worst. 

Gibeah  means  simply  '  a  hill,'  and  several  cities  bear  the 
name.  This  one,  Gibeah  of  Benjamin,  is  identified  with  Tell  el- 
Ful,  a  hill  2,754  feet  above  sea-level,  about  four  miles  north  of 
Jerusalem,  and  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  main  road. 

13.  Ramah  (a  'height ').  now  er-Ram,  another  hill,  2,600  feet 
above  sea-level,  five  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  also  near  the  main 
road. 

15.  The  sun  had  gone  down,  and  darkness  set  in — for  there 
is  little  or  no  twilight  in  Palestine — as  they  were  near  Gibeah,  so 
the  Levite  turned  off  the  main  road  and  entered  this  city.  Inns 
were  unknown,  and  visitors  were  thrown  upon  the  hospital^  of 
the  inhabitants,  so  the  man  sat  down  in  the  square  (or  broad 
place),  for  there  was  not  a  man  who  took  them  to  his  home  to 
spend  the  night. 

16.  Hospitality  was  offered  at  last,  but  not  by  a  Benjamite.  An 
old  man  of  Ephraim,  who  had  left  his  own  people  and  was 
'sojourning'  among  the  Benjamites,  passed  through  the  square 
as  he  came  back  from  his  work  in  the  fields,  saw  the  strangers, 
questioned  them,  and  (verse  21)  took  them  home  with  him. 

17.  Whither  goest  thou  ?  and  whence  comest  thou  ?    Fxactl}' 


JUDGES  19.  18-22.     J  157 

And  he  said  unto  him,  We  are  passing  from  Beth-lehem-  18 
judah  unto  the  farther  side  of  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim; 
from  thence  am  I,  and  I  went  to  Beth-lehem-judah :  and 
I  am  now  going  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  ;  and  there  is 
no  man  that  taketh  me  into  his  house.     Yet  there  is  19 
both  straw  and  provender  for  our  asses;   and  there  is 
bread  and  wine  also  for  me,  and  for  thy  handmaid,  and 
for  the  young  man  which  is  with  thy  servants  :  there  is 
no  want  of  any  thing.     And  the  old  man  said,  Peace  be  20 
unto  thee;   howsoever  let  all  thy  wants  lie  upon  me; 
only  lodge  not  in  the  street.     So  he  brought  him  into  21 
his  house,  and  gave  the  asses  fodder :  and  they  washed 
their  feet,  and  did  eat  and  drink. 

As  they  were  making  their  hearts  merry,  behold,  the  22 
men  of  the  city,  certain  sons  of  Belial,  beset  the  house 

the  same  questions  are   asked  to-day  in  Palestine  as  soon  as  a 
stranger  appears. 

11.  I  am  now  going  to  the  house  of  the  LORD.  According 
to  xx.  18  the  Israelites  went  up  to  Beth-el  to  ask  counsel  of  God, 
and  in  xx.  27  a  note  says  that  the  ark  was  there  at  that  time.  In 
1  Sam.  iii.  3  the  ark,  and  in  i.  7  the  'house  of  Yahweh,'  are  in 
Shiloh.  One  of  these  places  must  be  intended  if  the  text  is  cor- 
rect. But  the  Greek  version  reads  (as  in  R.  V.  margin)  '  to  my 
house,'  which  may  be  the  original,  the  letter  y  (meaning  'my') 
at  the  end  of  the  word  '  my  house  '  (in  Hebrew  '  house-my ') 
having  been  taken  later  as  the  initial  of  the  word  '  Yahweh,' 
which  was  then  written  in  full  and  gave  our  present  Hebrew  text. 

xxx.  22-28.  Death  of  the  concubine  at  the  hands  of  the  Benjamites. 
The  arrival  of  the  strangers  had  not  passed  without  notice,  al- 
though no  hospitality  had  been  offered.  Certain  rough  men  of 
the  city  came  to  the  house  where  they  were  being  entertained  and 
demanded  that  the  man  should  be  brought  out,  that  they  might 
use  him  for  immoral  purposes.  To  save  himself  the  Levite  seized 
his  concubine  and  gave  her  over  to  them,  and  'they  abused  her 
all  the  night.'  In  the  morning  the  Levite  found  her  dead  on  the 
threshold.     Putting  the  corpse  on  his  ass  he  went  to  his  place. 

22.  were  making-  their  hearts  merry.     See  verse  6. 

sons  of  Belial,  or,  translating  the  last  word,  'ofworthlessness' ; 
used  of  the  sons  of  Eli  in  1  Sam.  ii.  12,  and  so  with  various  shades  of 


158  JUDGES  19.  23-27.     JAJ 

round  about,  beating  at  the  door  j  and  they  spake  to  the 
master  of  the  house,  the  old  man,  saying,  Bring  forth  the 
man  that  came  into  thine  house,  that  we  may  know  him. 

23  And  the  man,  the  master  of  the  house,  went  out  unto 
them,  and  said  unto  them,  Nay,  my  brethren,  I  pray  you, 
do  not  so  wickedly ;  seeing  that  this  man  is  come  into 

24  mine  house,  do  not  this  folly.  [A]  Behold,  here  is  my 
daughter  a  maiden,  and  his  concubine ;  them  I  will 
bring  out  now,  and  humble  ye  them,  and  do  with  them 
what  seemeth  good  unto  you  :   but  unto  this  man  do  not 

25  any  such  folly.  [J]  But  the  men  would  not  hearken  to 
him :  so  the  man  laid  hold  on  his  concubine,  and 
brought  her  forth  unto  them ;  and  they  knew  her,  and 
abused  her  all  the  night  until  the  morning :  and  when 

26  the  day  began  to  spring,  they  let  her  go.  Then  came 
the  woman  in  the  dawning  of  the  day,  and  fell  down  at 
the  door  of  the  man's  house  where  her  lord  was,  till  it 

27  was  light.  And  her  lord  rose  up  in  the  morning,  and 
opened  the  doors  of  the  house,  and  went  out  to  go  his 
way :  and,  behold,  the  woman  his  concubine  was  fallen 
down  at  the  door  of  the  house,  with  her  hands  upon  the 

meaning  in  1  Sam.  x.  27,  xxv.  17,  xxx.  22  ;  2  Sam.  xvi.  7,  &c.  In 
most  of  these  passages  i  scoundrel '  is  perhaps  the  best  English 
equivalent.  A  drunken  woman  might  be  called  a  '  daughter  of 
Belial'  (1  Sam.  i.  16).  The  unnatural  lust  in  the  last  clause  of 
the  verse  has  a  parallel  in  Gen.  xix.  5. 

24.  This  verse  has  apparently  been  introduced  to  make  the 
story  more  like  that  in  Gen.  xix,  where  verse  8  has  been  the 
pattern  for  this.     Verse  25  follows  verse  23  naturally. 

25.  The  horror  of  the  story  is  increased  to  the  modern  reader 
by  the  brutality  of  the  Levite  in  driving  out  the  woman  to  save 
himself. 

when  the  day  began  to  spring-,  i.  e.  when  the  first  trace  of 
light  came  into  the  sky. 

26.  in  the  dawning  of  the  day:  as  the  light  grew  clear,  and 
morning  broke. 

her  lord.     So  Sarah  speaks  of  Abraham  (Gen.  xviii.  12). 


JUDGES  19.  28—20.  1.     J  A  159 

threshold.     And  he  said  unto  her,  Up,  and  let  us  be  2S 
going ;  but  none  answered :  then  he  took  her  up  upon 
the  ass;  and  the  man  rose  up,  and  gat  him  unto  his 
place.     And  when  he  was  come  into  his  house,  he  took  29 
a  knife,  and  laid  hold  on  his  concubine,  and  divided  her, 
limb  by  limb,  into  twelve  pieces,  and  sent  her  through- 
out all  the  borders  of  Israel.     And  it  was  so,  that  all  30 
that  saw  it  said,  There  was  no  such  deed  done  nor  seen 
from  the  day  that  the  children  of  Israel  came  up  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt  unto  this  day ;  consider  of  it,  take 
counsel,  and  speak. 

[A]  Then  all  the  children  of  Israel  went  out,  and  the  20 

xix.  29-30.     The  Levites  appeal  to  the  tribes  of  Israel, 

29.  divided  her.  The  word  here  is  the  one  used  for  cutting 
up  an  animal  for  sacrifice  (Lev.  i.  6,  12,  &c). 

twelve  pieces :  apparently  the  number  of  parts  into  which 
the  body  came  when  divided  according  to  the  bones. 

The  sending  of  the  pieces  is  parallel  to  Saul's  action  in  1  Sam. 
xi.  7. 

30.  Some  MSS.  of  the  Greek  version  read  'And  he  charged 
the  men  whom  he  sent,  saying,  Say  these  words  to  every  man 
of  Israel,  Has  such  a  thing  as  this  happened  from  the  day,'  &c. 
The  last  words  of  the  verse,  \  consider  of  it,  take  counsel,  and 
speak,'  are  much  more  intelligible  if  spoken  by  the  Levite's 
messengers  to  those  to  whom  they  came. 

Chapters  xx,  xxi  differ  entirely  in  language,  method  of  presenta- 
tion, and  point  of  view  from  what  precedes.  In  ch.  xix  the  story 
is  old  with  the  addition  of  a  few  late  notes.  In  these  chapters 
the  whole  is  late,  and  is  modelled  on  the  laws  and  narratives  in 
Deuteronomy  and  the  Priestly  law.  Wrapped  up  in  it  is  doubtless 
an  older  and  simpler  story,  the  substance  of  which  can  be  distin- 
guished, although  it  is  difficult  to  select  the  exact  passages  which 
may  have  been  in  the  original  narrative.  In  the  class  of  literature, 
called  Midrash,  to  which  this  belongs,  historic  accuracy  is  of 
little  or  no  importance.  What  is  aimed  at  is  vividness  of  presenta- 
tion and  especially  correctness  of  procedure  according  to  the  law 
(of  the  later  time).    For  further  details  see  Introduction,  p.  17. 

xx.  1-7.  The  Israelites  assemble  at  Mizpah  and  listen  to  the 
Levite's  story.  All  the  Israelites  from  the  extreme  north  to  the 
furthest  south  of  Palestine,  and  those  who  live  east  of  the  Jordan, 


160  JUDGES  20.  2,  3.     A 

congregation  was  assembled  as  one  man,  from  Dan  even 
to  Beer-sheba,  with  the  land  of  Gilead,  unto  the  Lord 

2  at  Mizpah.  And  the  chiefs  of  all  the  people,  even  of  all 
the  tribes  of  Israel,  presented  themselves  in  the  assembly 
of  the  people  of  God,  four  hundred  thousand  footmen 

3  that  drew  sword.     (Now  the  children  of  Benjamin  heard 


gather  '  as  one  man '  at  Mizpah,  and  hear  the  story  of  the  Levite's 
wrongs. 

1.  went  out— for  war  (see  ii.  15,  &c). 

the  congregation  was  assembled.  The  '  congregation  '  is 
the  technical  term  in  post-exilic  writings  for  the  people  of  Israel. 
The  three  stages  of  development  of  the  people  in  history  are 
(1)  The  Hebrews,  i.e.  tribes;  (2)  Israel,  a  nation;  (3)  the 
Congregation,  a  religious  body.  The  term  '  Congregation '  is 
then  used  by  the  Priestly  writer  of  the  Exile  and  later  to  denote 
the  Hebrews  even  of  the  Mosaic  time  (Lev.  viii.  4  ;  Num.  xvi. 
41,  &c).  The  verb  '  was  assembled  '  is  also  characteristic  of  the 
priestly  writing  (as  in  the  passages  referred  to). 

from  Dan  even  to  Beer-sheba:  an  expression  that  occurs 
seven  times,  but  only  between  this  passage  and  1  Kings  iv.  25. 
For  Dan  see  xviii.  7.  Beer-sheba  still  retains  its  old  name,  but 
in  Arabic  '  Blr  es-Seba',1  the  meaning  being  'Well  of  seven  *  or 
'  Well  of  oath.'  It  is  twenty-eight  miles  south-west  of  Hebron, 
and  just  on  the  border  of  the  Negeb.  Traditions  connected  it  with 
Abraham  (Gen.  xxi.  22  ff.,  E)  and  with  Isaac  (Gen.  xxvi.  26  ff.,  J), 
and  it  was  a  sanctuary  up  to  the  time  of  Amos  (Amos  v.  5,  viii.  14). 

the  land  of  Gilead:  as  in  v.  17  and  xi,  used  of  the  Hebrews 
east  of  the  Jordan. 

The  words  unto  the  LORD  seem  to  indicate  the  existence  of 
a  shrine  at  Mizpah  (cf.  1  Sam.  vii.  5ff.,  x.  17  ff.).  Jerome  says 
the  ark  rested  there  once. 

Mizpah :  on  the  mountain  now  called  Neby  Samwil,  2,935 
feet  above  sea-level,  four  and  a  half  miles  north-west  of  Jerusalem, 
and  two  from  Gibeah  (xix.  12). 

2.  the  chiefs.  The  same  word  {lit.  'corners')  is  used  in 
1  Sara.  xiv.  38  ;  Isa.  xix.  13,  &c. 

the  assembly  of  the  people  of  God  again  marks  the  latest 
stage  of  Hebrew  history  (see  on  verse  1). 

four  hundred  thousand.  In  the  song  of  Deborah  forty 
thousand  expressed  the  number  of  the  armies  of  Israel. 

3.  How  the  Benjamites  should  not  hear  would  be  difficult  to 
understand,  for  Mizpah  is  in  the  middle  of  their  land,  and  only 
about  two  miles  from  Gibeah. 


JUDGES  20.  4-1 1.     A  161 

that  the  children  of  Israel  were  gone  up  to  Mizpah.) 
And  the  children  of  Israel  said,  Tell  us,  how  was  this 
wickedness  brought  to  pass?  And  the  Levite,  the  hus-   4 
band  of  the  woman  that  was  murdered,  answered  and 
said,  I  came  into  Gibeah  that  belongeth  to  Benjamin,  I 
and  my  concubine,  to  lodge.     And  the  men  of  Gibeah   5 
rose  against  me,  and  beset  the  house  round  about  upon 
me  by  night;  me  they  thought  to  have  slain,  and  my 
concubine  they  forced,  and  she  is  dead.     And  I  took  my   6 
concubine,  and  cut  her  in  pieces,  and  sent  her  throughout 
all  the  country  of  the  inheritance  of  Israel :  for  they  have 
committed   lewdness   and   folly  in    Israel.     Behold,   ye   7 
children  of  Israel,  all  of  you,  give  here  your  advice  and 
counsel.     And  all  the  people  arose  as  one  man,  saying,   8 
We  will  not  any  of  us  go  to  his  tent,  neither  will  we  any 
of  us  turn  unto  his  house.     But  now  this  is  the  thing  9 
which  we  will  do  to  Gibeah ;  we  will  go  up  against  it  by 
lot ;  and  we  will  take  ten  men  of  an  hundred  throughout  10 
all  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  an  hundred  of  a  thousand, 
and  a  thousand  out  of  ten  thousand,  to  fetch  victual  for 
the  people,  that  they  may  do,  when  they  come  to  Gibeah 
of  Benjamin,  according  to  all  the  folly  that  they  have 
wrought  in  Israel.     So  all  the  men  of  Israel  were  gather-  1 1 
ed  against  the  city,  knit  together  as  one  man. 

7.  Lit.  'Behold,  all  of  you,  O  children  of  Israel,  give  a  word 
and  counsel  here.' 

xx.  8-1 1.  The  Israelites  settle  on  apian  of  action.  The  assembly 
determines  that  no  one  shall  return  home,  but  that  a  tenth  of 
the  men  shall  be  appointed  to  procure  food,  and  that  they  will 
attack  Gibeah  and  punish  it  for  its  crime. 

9.  we  will  go  up.  These  words  are  supplied  from  the  Greek 
version.     The  verb  has  dropped  out  of  the  Hebrew  text. 

toy  lot.     See  verse  18. 

10.  when  they  come  is  generally  supposed  to  mean,  when 
the  foragers  return,  but  it  is  so  awkward  in  the  original  that  it  is 
better  omitted  altogether. 


162  JUDGES  20.  12-16.     A 

12  And  the  tribes  of  Israel  sent  men  through  all  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,   saying,  What  wickedness  is  this  that  is 

13  come  to  pass  among  you?  Now  therefore  deliver  up  the 
men,  the  sons  of  Belial,  which  are  in  Gibeah,  that  we 
may  put  them  to  death,  and  put  away  evil  from  Israel. 
But  Benjamin  would  not  hearken  to  the  voice  of  their 

14  brethren  the  children  of  Israel.  And  the  children  of 
Benjamin  gathered  themselves  together  out  of  the  cities 
unto  Gibeah,  to  go  out  to  battle  against  the  children  of 

15  Israel.  And  the  children  of  Benjamin  were  numbered 
on  that  day  out  of  the  cities  twenty  and  six  thousand 
men  that  drew  sword,  besides  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeah, 
which   were    numbered    seven    hundred    chosen    men. 

16  Among  all  this  people  there  were  seven  hundred  chosen 
men  lefthanded ;  every  one  could  sling  stones  at  an  hair- 
breadth, and  not  miss. 

xx.  12-16.  Israel's  demand.  Benjamin's  refusal  and  preparation 
for  war.  The  Israelites,  before  attacking  Gibeah,  send  messengers 
through  l  all  the  tribes  of  Benjamin '  demanding  the  surrender  of 
the  criminals  of  Gibeah.  The  Benjamites  refuse,  and  gather  for 
battle  at  Gibeah.  Twenty-six  thousand  men  from  other  cities 
of  Benjamin  and  seven  hundred  from  Gibeah  are  counted  in  their 
host. 

12.  tribe  of  Benjamin.  If  the  Hebrew  text  is  correct  in  giving 
the  plural  '  tribes  •  (see  R.V.  marg.),  here  and  in  1  Sam.  ix.  21, 
the  word  is  used  in  the  most  unusual  sense  of  a  subdivision  of 
a  tribe.     (Cf.  Num.  iv.  18.) 

and  put  away  evil  from  Israel.  The  phrase  '  put  away ' 
(or  *  exterminate ')  evil  from  Israel  occurs  several  times  in 
Deuteronomy,  and  nowhere  else. 

15.  The  number  26,000  does  not  agree  with  the  figures  in 
later  verses.  The  Greek  25,000  seems  to  be  an  attempt  to  bring 
them  more  into  accord. 

16.  The  words  'seven  hundred  chosen  men1  seem  to  be  repeated 
by  mistake  from  the  preceding  verse.  They  do  not  appear  in  the 
Greek  version,  which  joins  the  last  word  of  verse  15  to  this  verse, 
and  translates  '  Chosen  men  of  all  the  people  were  ambidextrous, 
all  these  could  sling,  &c.'  The  Hebrew,  however,  does  not  mean 
'  ambidextrous,'  but  '  maimed  in  the  right  hand '  (see  iii.  15).  For 
the  Benjamites'  skill  in  slinging  and  archery  cf.  1  Chron.  xii.  2. 


JUDGES  20.  .7-23.     A  163 

And  the  men  of  Israel,  beside  Benjamin,  were  num-  17 
bered  four  hundred  thousand  men  that  drew  sword :  all 
these  were  men  of  war.     And  the  children  of  Israel  arose,  18 
and  went  up  to  Beth-el,  and  asked  counsel  of  God ;  and 
they  said,  Who  shall  go  up  for  us  first  to  battle  against 
the  children  of  Benjamin?    And  the  Lord  said,  Judah 
shall  go  up  first.     And  the  children  of  Israel  rose  up  in  19 
the  morning,  and  encamped  against  Gibeah.     And  the  20 
men  of  Israel  went  out  to  battle  against  Benjamin ;  and 
the  men  of  Israel  set  the  battle  in  array  against  them  at 
Gibeah.     And  the  children  of  Benjamin  came  forth  out  21 
of  Gibeah,  and  destroyed  down  to  the  ground  of  the 
Israelites  on  that  day  twenty  and  two  thousand  men. 
And  the  people,  the  men  of  Israel,  encouraged  themselves,  22 
and  set  the  battle  again  in  array  in  the  place  where  they 
set  themselves  in  array  the  first  day.     (And  the  children  23 
of  Israel  went  up  and  wept  before  the  Lord  until  even  ; 
and  they  asked  of  the  Lord,  saying,  Shall  I  again  draw 
nigh   to   battle   against  the   children  of  Benjamin   my 
brother?    And  the  Lord  said,  Go  up  against  him.) 

xx.  17-28.  The  preparations  of  the  Israelites  and  their  defeats.  The 
Israelite  army,  numbering  four  hundred  thousand  men,  go  up  to 
Beth-el  and  cast  lots  to  know  who  should  first  go  up  against 
Gibeah.  Judah  is  chosen  (but  nothing  more  is  said  of  it).  All 
the  Israelites  then  encamp  before  Gibeah,  but  the  Benjamites 
make  a  sally  and  slay  twenty-two  thousand  Israelites.  On 
the  second  day  they  sally  forth  again  and  slay  eighteen  thousand. 
The  Israelites  go  up  to  Beth-el  and  sacrifice  to  Yahweh  and  seek 
an  oracle  from  Him. 

18.  Beth-el.  See  i.  22.  According  to  this  verse  the  400,000 
men  marched  away  from  Mizpah  (half  an  hour's  distance  from 
Gibeah)  or  from  Gibeah  itself  (see  verse  11)  to  Beth-el,  some  hours 
distant  to  the  north,  only  in  verse  19  to  return.  All  this  marching 
would  be  in  the  enemy's  own  country. 

and  asked  counsel,  &c. :  clearly  copied  from  i.  1,  2.    Nothing 
more  is  said  of  Judah. 

21.  down  to  the  ground:  i.e.  leaving  them  slain  on  the  ground. 

23.  This  verse  should  come  before  verse  22  to  make  sense. 

M  2 


164  JUDGES  20.  24-29.     A 

24  And  the  children  of  Israel   came   near   against  the 

25  children  of  Benjamin  the  second  day.  And  Benjamin 
went  forth  against  them  out  of  Gibeah  the  second  day, 
and  destroyed  down  to  the  ground  of  the  children  of 
Israel  again  eighteen  thousand  men ;  all  these  drew  the 

26  sword.  Then  all  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  the 
people,  went  up,  and  came  unto  Beth-el,  and  wept,  and 
sat  there  before  the  Lord,  and  fasted  that  day  until  even ; 
and   they    offered   burnt  offerings   and   peace  offerings 

27  before  the  Lord.  And  the  children  of  Israel  asked  of 
the  Lord,  (for  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  God  was  there 

28  in  those  days,  and  Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son 
of  Aaron,  stood  before  it  in  those  days,)  saying,  Shall  I 
yet  again  go  out  to  battle  against  the  children  of  Ben- 
jamin my  brother,  or  shall  I  cease  ?  And  the  Lord  said, 
Go  up ;  for  to-morrow  I  will  deliver  him  into  thine  hand. 

29  And  Israel  set  liers  in  wait  against  Gibeah  round  about. 

26.  burnt  offering's  and  peace  offering's.  (Cf.  xxi.  4.)  The 
former  were  sacrifices  in  which  the  whole  offering  was  burned  on 
the  altar.  In  the  latter  a  part  was  offered  to  Yahweh,  a  part 
(sometimes  at  any  rate)  taken  by  the  priest  (1  Sam.  ii.  13  f.), 
while  the  rest  was  eaten  in  a  common  meal  or  feast  by  the 
worshippers  (cf.  ix.  27).  The  exact  meaning  of  the  term  '  peace- 
offering  '  is  uncertain. 

2*7,  28.  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  God.  This  is  the  only 
place  in  Judges  where  the  ark  is  mentioned  (see  ii.  1-5).  This 
note  is  added  to  explain  why  the  Israelites  went  to  Beth-el,  as 
it  might  otherwise  have  been  supposed  that  the  ark  had  been  at 
Shiloh  from  the  days  of  Joshua  (cf.  Joshua  xviii.  8-10)  to  the  time 
of  Samuel.  The  expression  '  ark  of  the  covenant  of  God '  (or 
'  Yahweh ')  is  a  late  one. 

Phinehas  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Aaron.  (Exod. 
vi.  25;  Num.  xxv.  7,  n,  &c.)  The  whole  incident  is  placed, 
by  the  mention  of  this  name,  in  the  lifetime  of  the  first  generation 
of  the  Hebrews  in  Palestine. 

xx.  29-36*.  First  account  of  the  battle  on  the  third  day.  On  the 
third  day  the  Israelites  took  up  their  position  as  before,  and  when 
the  Benjamites  sallied  out  again  they  feigned  to  flee,  thus  drawing 


Judges  20. 30-35-   a  165 

And  the  children  of  Israel  went  up  against  the  children  30 
of  Benjamin  on  the  third  day,  and  set  themselves   in 
array  against  Gibeah,  as  at  other  times.    And  the  children  31 
of  Benjamin  went  out   against  the  people,    and   were 
drawn  away  from  the  city ;  and  they  began  to  smite  and 
kill  of  the  people,  as  at  other  times,  in  the  high  ways,  of 
which  one  goeth  up  to  Beth-el,  and  the  other  to  Gibeah, 
in  the  field,  about  thirty  men  of  Israel.     And  the  children  32 
of  Benjamin  said,  They  are  smitten-  down  before  us,  as 
at  the  first.     But  the  children  of  Israel  said,  Let  us  flee, 
and  draw  them  away  from  the  city  unto  the  high  ways. 
And  all  the  men  of  Israel  rose  up  out  of  their  place,  and  33 
set  themselves  in  array  at  Baal-tamar :  and  the  liers  in 
wait  of  Israel  brake  forth  out  of  their  place,  even  out  of 
Maareh-geba.     And  there  came  over  against  Gibeah  ten  34 
thousand  chosen  men  out  of  all  Israel,  and  the  battle 
was  sore :  but  they  knew  not  that  evil  was  close  upon 
them.     And  the  Lord  smote  Benjamin  before  Israel :  35 

the  enemy  away  from  the  city.  At  a  certain  spot  ten  thousand 
Israelites  broke  out  of  ambush,  and  the  Benjamites  were  routed 
with  a  loss  of  twenty-five  thousand  one  hundred  men. 

31.  and  were  drawn  away  from  the  city:  a  parenthesis  in 
the  Hebrew.  (Joshua  viii.  16.)  The  text  is  not  in  order,  and 
judging  by  verse  39  should  probably  be  restored  thus  :  '  they 
were  drawn  away  from  the  city  into  the  highways,  of  which 
one  goes  up  to  Beth-el  and  the  other  to  Gibecn — and  they  began 
to  slay  in  the  open  country  as  at  other  times  some  of  the  people, 
about  thirty  men  of  Israel.' 

Gibeah.     As  the  roads  go  from   Gibeah,   this   is   probably 
a  mistake  for  Gibeon,  to  which  there  is  a  highway  near. 

33.  The  site  of  Baal-tamar  ('  Palm-tree  Baal ')  is  unknown. 
out  of  Maareh-geba.     Most   of  the    Greek    MSS.  and   the 

Latin  version  read  ;  from  the  west  of  Gibeah.'  This  means 
a  change  of  one  letter  in  the  first  word  in  Hebrew.  As  Geba  is 
put  for  Gibeah  in  verse  19,  so  it  is  probably  here. 

34.  While  the  ten  thousand  men  were  attacking  Gibeah  the 
Benjamites  were  fighting  with  the  main  body  of  the  Israelites,  and 
did  not  realize  the  disaster  that  had  come  upon  them. 

35.  36\  The  words  at  the  beginning  of  verse  36  are  absurd 


166  JUDGES  20.  36-39.     A 

and  the  children  of  Israel  destroyed  of  Benjamin  that 
day  twenty  and  five  thousand  and  an  hundred  men :  all 
these  drew  the  sword. 

36  So  the  children  of  Benjamin  saw  that  they  were 
smitten :  for  the  men  of  Israel  gave  place  to  Benjamin, 
because  they  trusted  unto  the  liers  in  wait  which  they 

37  had  set  against  Gibeah.  And  the  liers  in  wait  hasted, 
and  rushed  upon  Gibeah;  and  the  liers  in  wait  drew 
themselves  along,  and  smote  all  the  city  with  the  edge  of 

38  the  sword.  Now  the  appointed  sign  between  the  men  of 
Israel  and  the  liers  in  wait  was,  that  they  should  make 

39  a  great  cloud  of  smoke  rise  up  out  of  the  city.  And  the 
men  of  Israel  turned  in  the  battle,  and  Benjamin  began 
to  smite  and  kill  of  the  men  of  Israel  about  thirty 
persons :   for  they  said,  Surely  they  are  smitten  down 

coming  after  the  annihilation  of  the  Benjamites  in  verse  35. 
They  should  come  evidently  after  verse  34,  and  are  probably 
a  fragment  of  that  part  of  the  first  account  which  corresponded 
to  verses  40,  41  in  the  second. 

xx.  36b-48.  Second  account  of  the  battle  on  the  third  day.  The 
main  body  of  the  Israelites  gave  way  before  the  attack  of  the 
Benjamites  when  they  made  their  usual  sally.  The  men  who 
had  been  in  ambush  then  rushed  out,  attacked  Gibeah,  took  it, 
and  set  it  on  fire  (as  had  been  arranged).  The  Benjamites,  who 
had  killed  about  thirty  Israelites  in  their  pursuit,  now  turned  round, 
saw  the  smoke  of  the  burning  Gibeah,  realized  their  disaster,  and 
fled  along  the  read  to  the  wilderness.  In  the  rout  eighteen 
thousand  Benjamites  were  slain,  then  five  thousand  more,  then 
another  two  thousand.  Six  hundred  men  only  escaped  to  the 
rock  of  Rimmon,  where  they  abode  for  four  months.  Gibeah  and 
other  Benjamite  cities  were  burned,  and  all  property  destroyed. 

36.  for  the  men  of  Israel.    In  Hebrew  'and  the  men  of  Israel.' 

37.  drew  themselves  along:  simply  'drew,'  i.e.  'moved 
forward,'  as  in  iv.  6. 

39.  And  the  men  of  Israel  turned  in  the  hattle.  As  this  is 
described  in  its  proper  place  in  verse  41  it  is  probable  that  these 
words  should  be  joined  to  the  previous  verse  here  and  read  as 
part  of  the  plan  agreed  on,  'and  that  the  men  of  Israel  should 
turn,'  &c. 

For  the  rest  of  the  verse  cf.  verse  31. 


JUDGES  20.  40-45.     A  167 

before  us,  as  in  the  first  battle.     But  when  the  cloud  4° 
began  to  arise  up  out  of  the  city  in  a  pillar  of  smoke,  the 
Benjamites  looked  behind  them,  and,  behold,  the  whole 
of  the  city  went  up  in  smoke  to  heaven.     And  the  men  of  41 
Israel  turned,  and  the  men  of  Benjamin  were  amazed : 
for  they  saw  that  evil  was  come  upon  them.     Therefore  42 
they  turned  their  backs  before  the  men  of  Israel  unto  the 
way  of  the  wilderness ;  but  the  battle  followed  hard  after 
them;  and  they  which  came  out  of. the  cities  destroyed 
them   in  the   midst  thereof.     They  inclosed  the  Ben-  43 
jamites  round  about,  and  chased  them,  and  trode  them 
down  at  their  resting  place,  as  far  as  over  against  Gibeah 
toward    the    sunrising.     And    there    fell   of   Benjamin  44 
eighteen  thousand  men ;  all  these  were  men  of  valour. 
And  they  turned  and  fled  toward  the  wilderness  unto  the  45 
rock  of  Rimmon  :  and  they  gleaned  of  them  in  the  high 

40.  looked  behind  them :  simply  '  turned  round.' 

the  whole.     The  word  in  Hebrew  is  that  used  for  an  offering 

which  was  wholly  burned  on  the  altar  (cf.  Deut.  xiii.  16  marg.). 
in  smoke.     These  words  are  not  in  the  text,  and  are  quite 

unnecessary. 

to  heaven :  heavenwards. 

42.  the  way  of  the  wilderness :  i.  e.  towards  the  eastern  part 
of  Benjamin's  territory.  See  verses  45,  47.  The  text  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  verse  is  much  better  than  the  marginal  inter- 
pretation. The  word  'cities'  is  difficult  to  explain,  as  the  cities 
of  this  district  would  naturally  be  Benjamite.  The  Latin  version 
interprets  f  they  which  came  out  of  the  cities '  as  '  they  who  had 
burned  the  city  •  (i.  e.  Gibeah). 

43.  This  verse  is  full  of  difficulties.  The  first  sentence,  'They 
surrounded  Benjamin/  is  rendered  by  the  Greek  version  '  they 
cut  Benjamin  to  pieces'  (by  a  change  of  one  letter  in  Hebrew). 
The  second  verb  never  occurs  in  this  form  anywhere  else  in 
Hebrew.  The  word  translated  '  at  their  resting-place '  in  the 
text,  'at  Menuhah'  in  the  marg.,  is  rendered  'from  Nuhah'  in 
the  Greek  (cf.  'Nohah'  of  Benjamin  in  1  Chron.  viii.  2).  The 
meaning  of  the  verb  before  it  is  uncertain. 

toward  the  sunrising':   i.  e.  in  the  East. 
45.  Simmon :  now  Rammon,  about  three  miles  east  of  Beth-el. 


168  JUDGES  20.  46— 21.  2.     A 

ways  five  thousand  men ;  and  followed  hard  after  them 

46  unto  Gidom,  and  smote  of  them  two  thousand  men.  So 
that  all  which  fell  that  day  of  Benjamin  were  twenty  and 
five  thousand  men  that  drew  the  sword ;  all  these  were 

47  men  of  valour.  But  six  hundred  men  turned  and  fled 
toward  the  wilderness  unto  the  rock  of  Rimmon,  and 

48  abode  in  the  rock  of  Rimmon  four  months.  And  the 
men  of  Israel  turned  again  upon  the  children  of  Ben- 
jamin, and  smote  them  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  both 
the  entire  city,  and  the  cattle,  and  all  that  they  found : 
moreover  all  the  cities  which  they  found  they  set  on  fire. 

21      Now  the  men  of  Israel  had  sworn  in  Mizpah,  saying, 

There  shall  not  any  of  us  give  his  daughter  unto  Ben- 

2  jamin  to  wife.     And  the  people  came  to  Beth-el,  and  sat 

48.  the  entire  city  :  better  as  in  marg.  '  the  inhabited  city,'  lit. 
( the  city  of  men.' 

and  the  cattle :  lit.  l  up  to  cattle,'  i.  e.  including  everything 
between  man  and  cattle,  such  as  women  and  children. 

all  that  they  found :  every  existing  thing. 

xxi.  1-14.  Wives  are  secured  for  four  hundred  Beujamite  survivors 
by  the  destruction  of  Jabesh-gilead.  The  Israelites  now  bewailed 
the  fact  that,  by  their  action,  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  was  about 
to  perish  entirely.  Only  600  Benjamite  men  remained.  They 
themselves  had  sworn  they  would  not  give  their  daughters  to 
Benjamites.  How  could  they  provide  wives  for  these  men  and 
thus  save  the  tribe  ?  None  of  the  people  of  Jabesh-gilead  had 
come  up  to  the  meeting  at  Mizpah  (xx),  so  it  was  now  determined 
to  send  twelve  thousand  men  to  destroy  every  living  being  in  that 
city  except  unmarried  maidens.  This  was  done.  Four  hundred 
virgins  were  saved  alive  and  handed  over  to  the  Benjamites,  who 
were  now  allowed  to  come  from  Rimmon  to  their  old  land. 

1.  the  men  of  Israel  had  sworn :  (cf.  verses  7,  18).  The 
power  of  an  oath  was  such  that  Jcphthah  sacrificed  his  only 
daughter  rather  than  break  it  (xi),  and  Micah  was  terrified  by 
his  mother's  curse  into  restoring  the  money  he  had  stolen  (xvii.  2). 
Here  it  is  thought  better  to  destroy  a  whole  city  '  with  the  women 
and  the  little  ones  '  rather  than  break  the  oath  at  Mizpah.  And 
when  this  was  not  enough  it  was  evaded  by  trickery,  although  the 
letter  of  it  was  kept  (verse  22). 

2-4.  came  to  Beth-el,  &c,  as  in  xx.  i8?  26. 


JUDGES  21.  3-12-     A  169 

there  till  even  before  God,  and  lifted  up  their  voices,  and 
wept  sore.     And  they  said,  O  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,   3 
why  is  this  come  to  pass  in  Israel,  that  there  should  be 
to-day  one  tribe  lacking  in  Israel  ?  And  it  came  to  pass  4 
on  the  morrow,  that  the  people  rose  early,  and  built  there 
an  altar,  and  offered  burnt  offerings  and  peace  offerings. 
And  the  children  of  Israel  said,  Who  is  there  among  all   5 
the  tribes  of  Israel  that  came  not  up  in  the  assembly 
unto  the  Lord?  For  they  had  made  a  great  oath  con- 
cerning him  that  came  not  up  unto  the  Lord  to  Mizpah, 
saying,  He  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.     And  the  chil-  6 
dren  of  Israel  repented  them  for  Benjamin  their  brother, 
and  said,  There  is  one  tribe  cut  off  from  Israel  this  day. 
How  shall  we  do  for  wives  for  them  that  remain,  seeing   7 
we  have  sworn  by  the  Lord  that  we  will  not  give  them  of 
our  daughters  to  wives  ?  And  they  said,What  one  is  there   8 
of  the  tribes  of  Israel  that  came  not  up  unto  the  Lord  to 
Mizpah?   And,  behold,  there  came  none  to  the  camp 
from   Jabesh-gilead   to   the   assembly.      For  when    the  9 
people  were  numbered,  behold,  there  were  none  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Jabesh-gilead  there.    And  the  congregation  10 
sent  thither  twelve  thousand  men  of  the  valiantest,  and 
commanded  them,  saying,  Go  and  smite  the  inhabitants 
of  Jabesh-gilead  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  with  the 
women  and  the  little  ones.     And  this  is  the  thing  that  11 
ye  shall  do;   ye  shall  utterly  destroy  every  male,  and 
every  woman  that  hath  lien  by  man.     And  they  found  12 

5.  For  they  had  made  a  great  oath,  &c.  :  lit.  '  For  the  great 
oath  (or  curse)  was  on  him  who,'  &c. 

8.  Jabesh-gilead:  a  city  mentioned  again  in  i  Sam.  xi ; 
2  Sam.  ii.  4  k  The  site  is  supposed  to  be  that  of  the  modern 
Meriamin,  about  seven  miles  from  Pella.  The  stream  near  it,  which 
enters  the  Jordan  about  ten  miles  south  of  Beth-shean  (Beisan),  still 
preserves  the  name  Wady  Yabis. 

11.  Just  as  in  Num.  xxxi.  17,  18. 


170  JUDGES  21.  13-19.     A 

among  the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh-gilead  four  hundred 
young  virgins,  that  had  not  known  man  by  lying  with 
him :  and  they  brought  them  unto  the  camp  to  Shiloh, 
which  is  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

13  And  the  whole  congregation  sent  and  spake  to  the 
children  of  Benjamin  that  were  in  the  rock  of  Rimmon, 

14  and  proclaimed  peace  unto  them.  And  Benjamin  re- 
turned at  that  time;  and  they  gave  them  the  women 
which  they  had  saved  alive  of  the  women  of  Jabesh- 

i5gilead:  and  yet  so  they  sufficed  them  not.  And  the 
people  repented  them  for  Benjamin,  because  that  the 
Lord  had  made  a  breach  in  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

16  Then  the  elders  of  the  congregation  said,  How  shall 
we  do  for  wives  for  them  that  remain,  seeing  the  women 

17  are  destroyed  out  of  Benjamin?  And  they  said,  There 
must  be  an  inheritance  for  them  that  are  escaped  of 
Benjamin,  that  a  tribe  be  not  blotted  out  from  Israel. 

1 3  Howbeit  we  may  not  give  them  wives  of  our  daughters : 

for  the  children  of  Israel  had  sworn,  saying,  Cursed  be 

19  he  that  giveth  a  wife  to  Benjamin.     And  they  said,  Be- 

12.  Shiloh.  See  xviii.  31.  This  is  the  only  mention  of  the 
Israelites'  camp  there. 

13.  the  whole  congregation.     See  xx.  1. 

xxi.  16-25.  Wives  are  procured  for  the  remaining  Benjarnites  from 
Shiloh.  Some  (two  hundred)  Benjarnites  are  still  without  wives. 
They  are  recommended  to  carry  off  Israelitish  maidens  at  a  feast 
in  Shiloh.  The  "other  Israelites  undertake  to  make  peace  with 
the  parents  of  these.  Thus  the  oath  will  have  been  kept,  for 
though  the  Shilonites  are  Israelites,  they  will  not  have  given  their 
daughters  to  Benjamin,  for  they  are  taken  by  force.  This  plan  is 
carried  out.  The  existence  of  Benjamin  as  a  tribe  is  secured. 
The  Israelites  return  home. 

16.  the  elders  of  the  congregation.     So  in  Lev.  iv.  15. 

17.  There  must  D3  an  inheritance  for  them  that  are  escaped 
of  Benjamin.  The  meaning  is  doubtful.  The  Hebrew  has  only 
'An  inheritance  of  the  escaped  to  (i.e.  belonging  to)  Benjamin.' 
One  of  the  Greek  versions  has  '  How  shall  a  lot  be  preserved  for 
Benjamin  as  an  inheritance,  and  a  tribe  be  not,'  &c. 


JUDGES  21.  20-23.     A  171 

hold,  there  is  a  feast  of  the  Lord  from  year  to  year  in 
Shiloh,  which  is  on  the  north  of  Beth-el,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  high  way  that  goeth  up  from  Beth-el  to  Shechem, 
and  on  the  south  of  Lebonah.     And  they  commanded  20 
the  children  of  Benjamin,  saying,  Go  and  lie  in  wait  in 
the  vineyards;  and  see,  and,  behold,  if  the  daughters  of  21 
Shiloh  come  out  to  dance  in  the  dances,  then  come  ye 
out  of  the  vineyards,  and  catch  you  every  man  his  wife 
of  the  daughters  of  Shiloh,  and  go  to  .the  land  of  Ben- 
jamin.    And   it  shall   be,   when   their  fathers  or  their  22 
brethren  come  to  complain  unto  us,  that  we  will  say 
unto  them,  Grant  them  graciously  unto  us :  because  we 
took  not  for  each  man  of  them  his  wife  in  battle :  neither 
did  ye  give  them  unto  them ;  else  would  ye  now  be 
guilty.     And  the  children  of  Benjamin  did  so,  and  took  23 

19.  a  feast  of  the  LOBD  :  cf.  the  vintage  feast  in  ix.  27. 
Shiloh.   See  xviii.  31.   Beth-el.    See  i.  22.    Shechem.    See 
ix.  1. 

Xiebonah,  now  el-Lubban,  three  miles  north-west  of  Shiloh. 

21.  to  dance.  In  early  times  religious  festivals  were  closely 
associated  with  social  feasting  and  merriment.  It  was  reserved 
for  a  later  time,  when  the  two  elements  were  separated,  to  attach 
dancing  to  the  secular  side,  and  banish  it  by  degrees  from  the 
sacred. 

22.  The  Hebrew  text  of  the  latter  part  of  this  verse  is  unin- 
telligible as  it  stands  now. 

For  Grant  them  graciously,  &c,  some  Greek  MSS.  have 
1  Have  compassion  on  them,  for  each  man  did  not  receive  a  wife 
in  the  war,'  i.  e.  the  war  with  Jabesh-gilead  did  not  provide  wives 
for  all.  Others  read  '  Have  compassion  on  them  that  they  took, 
each  his  wife  in  war,'  i.  e.  forcibly  at  Shiloh. 

neither  did  ye  give  them  unto  them ;  else  would  ye  now 
be  guilty.  This  is  not  a  translation  of  the  Hebrew,  which  does 
not  seem  to  give  sense.  By  changing  the  pronunciation  (not 
the  letters)  of  two  particles  we  get  '  for  if  you  yourselves  had 
given  (them)  to  them,  you  would  now  be  guilty.' 

The  meaning  of  the  whole  is  clear — that  if  the  Shilonites  had 
given  their  daughters  freely  to  the  Benjamites  they  would  have 
broken  their  vow,  but  as  they  have  been  taken  b}'  force  they  are 
guiltless,  and  the}-  are  not  bound  to  punish  the  captors. 


172  JUDGES  21.  24,  25.     A 

them  wives,  according  to  their  number,  of  them  that 
danced,  whom  they  carried  off:  and  they  went  and 
returned  unto  their  inheritance,  and  built  the  cities,  and 

24  dwelt  in  them.  And  the  children  of  Israel  departed 
thence  at  that  time,  every  man  to  his  tribe  and  to  his 
family,  and  they  went  out  from  thence  every  man  to  his 

25  inheritance.  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel : 
every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes. 

24.  According  to  the  story  (see  xx.  47)  the  Israelites  must  have 
been  away  from  their  homes  for  at  least  five  or  six  months. 

25.  See  xvii.  6,  xviii.  1,  xix.  1. 


THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH 


INTRODUCTION 

The  Book  of  Ruth  appears  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  as 
one  of  a  collection  of  five  short  works  called  'the  five 
rolls,'  in  the  third  and  latest  Canon  of  the  Jews  (see 
Introduction  to  Judges,  p.  3).  It  was  thus  one  of  the  books 
that  formed  a  kind  of  informal  supplement  to  the  two 
Canonical  collections  (the  Law  and  the  Prophets),  until, 
on  account  of  its  use  in  the  synagogue,  it  too  received  the 
stamp  of  canonicity,  probably  not  long  before  the  time  of 
Christ.  It  was  read  at  the  Feast  of  Weeks.  (Cf.  Ryle, 
The  Cation  of  the  O.  T.  ch.  vi.) 

The  story  is  too  simple  and  short  to  need  recapitulation 
here.  In  style  it  is  very  fresh,  simple,  and  graceful.  As 
a  piece  of  literature  it  is  the  most  charming  short  story 
in  the  O.  T.  The  scene  is  laid  in  Beth-lehem  of  Judah ; 
the  heroine  is  a  Moabitess.  The  time  of  the  story  is 
that  in  which  '  the  judges  judged' ;  but  in  strong  contrast 
with  the  wild  deeds  which  were  the  material  of  the  stories 
of  this  period  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Judges  we  have  Y 
here  the  most  delightful  account  of  simple  village  life  in  '  ^ 
time  of  peace.  This  contrast,  however,  does  not,  as  some 
writers  argue,  involve  any  contradiction.  The  simplest 
country  life  can  exist,  and  has  often  existed,  side  by  side 
with  a  general  state  of  warfare.  In  the  four  hundred  and 
more  years  supposed  to  be  covered  by  the  period  of  the 
judges  there  is  abundant  room  for  such  an  incident  as 
that  of  Ruth. 

We  have  no  information  as  to  the  date  at  which  the 
book  was  written.     It  appears  first  as  a  part  of  the  latest 


176  THE    BOOK    OF   RUTH 

collection  of  Jewish  canonical  writings,  and  there  is  no 
reference  to  it  in  any  other  O.  T.  book.  There  is  thus  an 
interval  of  about  a  thousand  years  between  the  time  when 
the  events  are  said  to  have  occurred  and  the  first  appear- 
ance of  them  in  writing.  There  are  in  the  book  itself 
some  indications  that  in  its  present  form  it  is  a  work  of 
the  Exilic  or  post-Exilic  times. 

(i)  In  iv.  7  the  writer  thinks  it  necessary  to  explain 
the  custom  of  drawing  off  the  shoe  in  matters  of 
4  redeeming '  and  '  exchanging,'  as  one  which  was  not  in 
use  at  the  time  when  he  wrote,  and  which  might  even  be 
unintelligible  to  the  reader  without  explanation.  But  in 
Deut.  xxv.  9  f.  the  drawing  off  of  the  shoe  in  a  matter  of 
redeeming  is  enjoined,  although  there  is  a  difference  in 
the  details  connected  with  it.  The  writer  of  Ruth  iv.  7 
seems  to  contrast  the  earlier  use  of  the  shoe  with  the 
Deuteronomic,  and  if  this  be  so  he  must  have  written 
later  than  621  B.C. 

(2)  The  genealogy  in  iv.  18-22  seems  at  first  sight  only 
to  show  that  the  work  (or  this  passage)  was  written  in  or 
after  the  time  of  David.  But  there  are  two  facts  which 
make  one  suspicious  of  this  genealogy.  The  first  is  that 
the  compiler  of  the  Book  of  Samuel,  who  is  so  full  in  his 
information  as  to  David,  apparently  does  not  know 
anything  of  his  ancestors  beyond  his  father,  and  the  only 
other  record  of  this  genealogy  is  in  1  Chron.  ii,  i.  e.  in 
a  work  written  after  B.C.  333  (see  Driver,  Introduction  to 
the  Literature  of  the  O.  T.  ed.  6,  p.  518).  The  other 
fact  is  that  Salmon  or  Salmah,  who  is  here  the  father  of 
Boaz,  appears  in  1  Chron.  ii.  51,  54  as  the  father  of 
Beth-lehem  (the  city),  apparently  indicating  that  the 
genealogy  is  an  artificial  one  and  the  work  of  later  times. 

But  it  is  possible  that  both  these  passages  are  additions 
to  an  earlier  story.  If  we  leave  these  on  one  side,  what 
does  the  rest  tell  us  ?  Here  the  evidence  is  chiefly 
linguistic,  and  the  student  of  Hebrew  can  consult  Driver's 
Introduction  for  details.     Two  facts  are  of  importance  : — 


INTRODUCTION 


177 


(1)  That  there  are  undoubtedly  late  words  and  phrases 
which  point  to  an  Exilic  or  post-Exilic  date.  (2)  That  in 
general  style  and  particular  phrases  the  narrative  re- 
sembles the  Book  of  Samuel  rather  than  that  of  Chronicles. 
One  of  two  alternatives  seems  to  be  possible  :  either' that 
(1)  a  story  was  current  in  tradition  from  quite  early  times, 
and  that  in  course  of  time  later  and  more  common  words 
were  occasionally  substituted  for  the  earlier ;  or  that  (2) 
a  late  writer  well  acquainted  with  the  language  of  the  Book 
of  Samuel  wrote  the  whole  work.  That  the  former  is  -Jfr 
possible  is  clear  from  the  history  of  the  Russian  '  historical 
songs,'  which  were  only  collected  and  written  down  for 
the  first  time  at  the  beginning  of  last  century,  but  which 
go  back  for  nearly  a  thousand  years,  and  have  kept  much 
of  the  ancient  language,  though  later  words  and  ideas 
have  been  introduced  beside  these.  The  latter  alternative 
is  also  possible,  and  could  easily  be  paralleled. 

There  are  three  very  distinctive  features  in  the  Book  of 
Ruth. 

(1)  It  gives  the  genealogy  of  David,  the  king  who  re- 
presented in  later  times  the  ideal  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy. 

(2)  It  gives  special  prominence  to  the  fact  that  the 
greatest  royal  line  of  the  Hebrews  was  descended  from 
a  Moabitess.  Ruth's  nationality  is  constantly  mentioned 
(i.  22,  ii.  2,6,  21,  iv.  5,  10),  and  she  speaks  of  herself  as 
a  'foreigner'  (ii.  10). 

(3)  The  action  of  the  story  turns  on  the  recognition  of  — 
the  duty  on  the  part  of  the  nearest  relative  to  marry  the 
widow  of  a  man  who  has  died  without  male  children. 

The  usual  question  asked  is,  which  of  these  led  to  the 
composition  of  the  work  ?  As,  however,  it  seems  impossible 
to  decide  with  certainty  the  origin  of  the  book,  we 
may  alter  the  question  and  ask  which  of  these  features 
led  to  the  composition  of  the  work  in  its  present  form  and 
preserved  it,  when  apparently  many  other  writings  passed 
into  oblivion.  The  third  feature  mentioned  above — the 
action  of  Boaz  as  nearest  kinsman— is  all  important  for 


178  THE   BOOK  OF   RUTH 

the  action  of  the  story,  but  does  not  strike  the  reader  as 
the  subject  of  it.  From  beginning  to  end  it  is  about 
Ruth  the  Moabitess,  and  how  she  became  the  ancestress 
of  an  illustrious  family  in  Israel.  If  this  be  true,  the  story 
must  have  been  a  favourite  with  those  who  did  not  share 
the  zeal  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  against  mixed  marriages. 
The  Deuteronomic  law  (Deut.  xxiii.  3  ff.)  forbade  any 
descendant  of  a  Moabite  to  the  tenth  generation  to  '  enter 
into  the  assembly  of  Yah  wen.'  In  Ezra  ix-x  and  Neh.  xiii 
we  read  of  the  attempt  to  enforce  this  law,  and  can  see 
that  it  met  with  much  opposition.  It  may  be  owing  to 
this  that  the  Book  of  Ruth  achieved  that  popularity  which 
saved  it. 

But  its  reception  at  a  later  date  into  the  third  Canon 
was  doubtless  due  to  its  connexion,  by  the  genealogy, 
with  David,  just  as  Ecclesiastes  was  made  canonical  for 
its  supposed  connexion  with  Solomon. 


THE   BOOK  OF   RUTH 


REVISED   VERSION    WITH   ANNOTATIONS 


N    2 


THE  BOOK  OF  RUTH 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  days  when  the  judges  1 
judged,  that  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land.  And  a 
certain  man  of  Beth-lehem-judah  went  to  sojourn  in  |he 
country  of  Moab,  he,  and  his  wife,  and  his  two  sons. 
And  the  name  of  the  man  was  Elimelech,  and  the  name  2 
of  his  wife  Naomi,  and  the  name  of  his  two  sons  Mahlon 
and  Chilion,  Ephrathites  of  Beth-lehem-judah.  And  they 
came  into  the  country  of  Moab,  and  continued  there. 
And  Elimelech  Naomi's  husband  died ;  and  she  was  left,  3 

i.  1-5.  The  circumstances  of  Rutlis  marriage.  In  the  days  of 
the  judges  a  man  of  Beth-lehem,  his  wife,  and  two  sons  were 
driven  by  a  famine  to  migrate  to  the  country  of  Moab.  There  the 
man  died  and  the  two  sons  married  two  women  of  Moab,  Orpah 
and  Ruth.  In  the  course  of  ten  years  the  sons  also  died,  and  the 
three  widows  were  left  alone. 

1.  in  the  days  when  the  judges  judged.  As  according  to 
iv.  22  Boaz  was  the  great-grandfather  of  David,  the  events  must 
belong  to  the  end  of  this  period. 

there  was  a  famine  in  the  land.  Famines  in  Palestine  are 
often  mentioned  in  the  O.T. :  in  the  time  of  Abraham  (Gen.  xii.  10), 
of  Isaac  (xxvi.  1),  of  Jacob  (xli.  56,  &c),  of  David  (2  Sam.  xxi.  1), 
of  Elijah  (1  Kings  xvii). 

Beth-lehem-judah.     See  on  Judges  xvii.  7. 

the  country  of  Moab.  The  high  plateau,  4,300  feet  above 
the  Dead  Sea,  to  the  east  of  it  and  south  of  the  Arnon.  The 
relations  of  the  Hebrews  to  the  Moabites  were  often  friendly, 
sometimes  the  reverse.     (Cf.  on  Judges  iii.  12.) 

2.  Elimelech  (<  God  '  or  '  My  God  is  king').  The  name  occurs 
in  other  Semitic  languages  also. 

Naomi.     See  verse  20. 

Ephrathites  (cf.  iv.  11).  Ephratha  here,  and  in  1  Sam.  xvii. 
12  ;  Mic.  v.  2,  is  the  name  of  the  district  in  which  Beth-lehem  was 
situated. 


1 82  RUTH  1.  4-8 

4  and  her  two  sons.  And  they  took  them  wives  of  the 
women  of  Moab  ;  the  name  of  the  one  was  Orpah,  and 
the  name  of  the  other  Ruth  :   and  they  dwelled  there 

5  about  ten  years.  And  Mahlon  and  Chilion  died  both  of 
them ;  and  the  woman  was  left  of  her  two  children  and 

6  of  her  husband.  Then  she  arose  with  her  daughters  in 
law,  that  she  might  return  from  the  country  of  Moab : 
for  she  had  heard  in  the  country  of  Moab  how  that  the 

7  Lord  had  visited  his  people  in  giving  them  bread.  And 
she  went  forth  out  of  the  place  where  she  was,  and  her 
two  daughters  in  law  with  her;   and  they  went  on  the 

8  way  to  return  unto  the  land  of  Judah.  And  Naomi  said 
unto  her  two  daughters  in  law,  Go,  return  each  of  you  to 


4.  And  they  took  them  wives  of  the  women  of  Moab.  This 
marriage  of  Hebrew  men  with  Moabite  women  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  features  of  the  story.  Such  intermarriage  was  common 
throughout  Hebrew  history,  but  was  strictly  forbidden  in  later 
times,  and  in  Deut.  xxiii.  3  ff.  the  law  is  especially  severe  against 
the  descendants  of  Moabites.  The  constant  repetition  of  Ruth's 
nationality  seems  to  show  why  the  book  was  so  popular  (see 
Introd.,  p.  178). 

i.  6-18.  Ruth  accompanies  Naomi  to  Beth-lehem.  In  the  loneli- 
ness of  a  household,  entirely  bereft  of  men,  Naomi's  thoughts  turn 
to  her  former  home.  She  learns  that  the  famine  is  over,  and  that 
there  is  now  plenty.  Accordingly  she  determines  to  return,  and 
sets  out  accompanied  by  Orpah  and  Ruth.  At  some  point  in  the 
journey  she  stops  to  bid  farewell  to  her  daughters-in-law,  blesses 
them,  kisses  them,  and  with  tears  will  send  them  back.  But  both 
would  fain  go  with  her,  yet  she  urges  them  to  return,  for  she 
cannot  help  them  to  establish  new  homes  for  themselves.  Orpah 
is  persuaded  and  turns  back,  but  Ruth  will  not  be  persuaded  by 
any  means,  and  passionately  declares  her  intention  to  share  the 
lot  of  Naomi. 

6.  the  LOSD  had  visited  his  people  in  giving  them  bread : 
lit.  '  to  give  them  bread.'  Yahweh  'visits'  (i.e.  'gives  attention 
to')  men  sometimes  for  good,  as  in  Gen.  1.  24  f.,  Exod.  iv.  31, 
1  Sam.  ii.  21,  and  here;  sometimes  for  punishment,  as  in  Jer.  vi. 
15.  xlix.  8,  &c. 

8.  A  parting  rarely  takes  place  in  the  house  in  the  East.     The 


RUTH  1.  9-14  183 

her  mother's  house :   the  Lord  deal  kindly  with  you,  as 
ye  have  dealt  with  the  dead,  and  with  me.     The  Lord   9 
grant  you  that  ye  may  find  rest,  each  of  you  in  the  house 
of  her  husband.     Then  she  kissed  them  ;  and  they  lifted 
up  their  voice,  and  wept.     And  they  said  unto  her,  Nay,  10 
but  we  will   return  with   thee  unto  thy  people.     And  n 
Naomi  said,  Turn  again,  my  daughters :   why  will  ye  go 
with  me  ?  have  I  yet  sons  in  my  womb,  that  they  may 
be  your  husbands?  Turn  again,  my  (laughters,  go  your  12 
way ;  for  I  am  too  old  to  have  an  husband.     If  I  should 
say,  I  have  hope,  if  I  should  even  have  an  husband  to- 
night, and  should  also  bear  sons;   would  ye  therefore  13 
tarry  till  they  were  grown  ?  would  ye  therefore  stay  from 
having  husbands  ?  nay,  my  daughters ;  for  it  grieveth  me 
much  for  your  sakes,  for  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  gone 
forth  against  me.     And  they  lifted  up  their  voice,  and  14 

departing  relative  or  guest  is  usually  accompanied  for  some  distance 
on  the  road  by  friends. 

to  her  mother's  house:  i.  e.  simply  to  her  mother's  part  of  the 
home,  as  in  Song  of  Songs  iii.  4. 

11-13.  Naomi's  persuasion  is  based  on  a  custom  known  as 
that  of  the  Levirate  marriage.  By  it,  when  a  man  died  childless, 
his  brother  took  the  widow  as  his  wife,  and  if  a  child  was  born  it 
was  counted  to  the  dead  man  and  not  to  the  real  father.  The 
custom  was  very  ancient,  and  was  revised  and  included  in  the  Deuter- 
onomic  law  (Deut.  xxv.  5-10),  and  was  the  occasion  of  one  of  the 
test  questions  put  to  Christ  by  the  Sadducees  (Matt.  xxii.  23  ff.). 
It  was  not  a  custom  peculiar  to  the  Hebrews,  but  is  found  also  in 
India  and  elsewhere. 

The  assumption  in  Naomi's  words  is  that  Orpah  and  Ruth  will 
not  be  content  to  remain  without  husbands  and  without  children. 
But  she  can  do  nothing  to  help  them  ;  she  has  no  other  sons  to 
marry  them,  and  even  if  she  were  herself  to  marry  again  and 
bear  sons,  would  her  daughters-in-law  wait  until  these  were 
grown  up  and  able  to  marry  them  ?  It  is  hopeless  to  expect  any- 
thing from  her.  Yahweh  has  decreed  that  she  shall  be  without 
resource. 

13.  it  grieveth  me  much  for  your  sakes  is  a  more  probable 
and  more  natural  translation  than  that  given  in  the  margin. 


184  RUTH  1.  15-20 

wept  again :  and  Orpah  kissed  her  mother  in  law ;  but 

15  Ruth  clave  unto  her.  And  she  said,  Behold,  thy  sister 
in  law  is  gone  back  unto  her  people,  and  unto  her  god : 

16  return  thou  after  thy  sister  in  law.  And  Ruth  said,  In- 
treat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  and  to  return  from  following 
after  thee  :  for  whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go  3  and  where 
thou  lodgest,  I  will  lodge  :  thy  people  shall  be  my  people, 

17  and  thy  God  my  God  :  where  thou  diest,  will  I  die,  and 
there  will  I  be  buried :  the  Lord  do  so  to  me,  and  more 

18  also,  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me.  And  when 
she  saw  that  she  was  stedfastly  minded  to  go  with  her, 

19  she  left  speaking  unto  her.  So  they  two  went  until  they 
came  to  Beth-lehem.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  they 
were  come  to  Beth-lehem,  that  all  the  city  was  moved 

20  about  them,  and  the  women  said,  Is  this  Naomi  ?  And 
she  said  unto  them,  Call  me  not  Naomi,  call  me  Mara : 

14.  Orpah  kissed  her  mother  in  law.  The  Greek  version 
adds  '  and  returned  to  her  people/ 

15.  and  unto  her  god.  In  entering  the  Hebrew  household  of 
Elimelech,  Orpah  and  Ruth  had  become  worshippers  of  Yahweh, 
the  Hebrew  God.  Now  in  going  back  to  her  mother's  house 
Orpah  would  naturally  once  more  become  a  worshipper  of  the  god 
of  Moab.  Ruth  (in  verse  16),  in  declaring  that  she  will  not  leave 
Naomi,  says  '  thy  God  (shall  be)  my  God.' 

1?.  there  will  I  be  buried.  As  the  family  lived  together,  so 
the  members  of  it  were  usually  buried  in  one  place,  in  the  belief 
that  in  some  way  the  family  unity  was  preserved  in  Sheol.  (Cf. 
Judges  ii.  10,  and  the  expression  \  slept  with  his  fathers '  frequently 
in  Kings.) 

the  LORD  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also:  a  form  of  oath  frequent 
in  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings. 

i.  19-22.      The  arrival  in  Beth-hhe-M. 

19.  all  the  city  was  moved  about  them :  as  every  small  Eastern 
city  or  village  is  about  the  arrival  of  strangers  at  the  present 
time. 

20.  Call  me  not  Naomi,  call  me  Mara.  Naomi  means 
'  pleasant,  delightful.'  Just  as  Gideon  felt  that  the  common 
greeting  (Judges  vi.  13)  was  an  irony  in  the  light  of  actual  cir- 
cumstances, so   Naomi  feels  that  her  name  is  now  quite  inap- 


RUTH  1.  21—2.  2  185 

for  the  Almighty  hath  dealt  very  bitterly  with  me.  I  21 
went  out  full,  and  the  Lord  hath  brought  me  home  again 
empty :  why  call  ye  me  Naomi,  seeing  the  Lord  hath 
testified  against  me,  and  the  Almighty  hath  afflicted  me  ? 
So  Naomi  returned,  and  Ruth  the  Moabitess,  her  22 
daughter  in  law,  with  her,  which  returned  out  of  the 
country  of  Moab :  and  they  came  to  Beth-lehem  in  the 
beginning  of  barley  harvest. 

And  Naomi  had  a  kinsman  of  her  husband's,  a  mighty  2 
man  of  wealth,  of  the  family  of  Elimelech ;  and  his  name 
was  Boaz.     And  Ruth  the  Moabitess  said  unto  Naomi,    2 

propriate.       'Call    me   not    "delightful"   but    "  bitter,"    for  the 
Almighty  hath  dealt  very  bitterly  with  me.' 

the  Almighty :  in  Hebrew  the  proper  name  '  Shaddai.'    (Cf. 
El  Shaddai  in  Gen.  xvii.  1,  xxviii.  3,  xxxv.  11,  xliii.  14,  xlviii.  3,  and 
especially  Exod.  vi.  3,  and  'Shaddai '  alone,  more  than  thirty  times 
in  Job.) 
22.  in  the  beginning-  of  barley-harvest :  that  is,  in  April. 

ii.  1-17.  Ruth  meets  Boas  as  she  gleans  in  his  field.  No  sooner 
are  the  two  women  settled  in  Beth-lehem  than  provision  has  to  be 
made  for  their  sustenance.  Ruth  therefore  proposes  that  she 
shall  go  out  to  glean  in  some  field  where  harvesting  is  being 
carried  on.  She  happens  to  light  on  a  field  belonging  to  Boaz 
who  was  of  the  family  of  Elimelech.  Boaz,  seeing  a  stranger, 
inquires  of  the  reapers  who  she  is,  and  the  overseer  tells  him. 
Thoroughly  appreciating  her  attachment  to  Naomi,  he  speaks 
kindly  to  her,  bids  her  glean  without  fear  in  his  field  alone, 
invites  her  to  share  the  meal  of  the  reapers,  and  charges  his  men 
to  allow  her  to  glean  freely,  and  even  to  pull  out  something  for 
her  from  the  bundles,  that  she  may  have  more.  On  beating  out 
what  she  had  thus  gleaned  in  the  day,  she  found  she  had  about 
an  ephah  of  barley. 

1.  a  kinsman.  The  word  so  translated  here  is  a  general  term 
meaning  'an  acquaintance.'  It  is  not  until  verse  20  that  we  learn 
he  is  a  kinsman  in  a  more  definite  sense,  with  certain  rights  and 
duties. 

a  mighty  man  of  wealth,  lit.  '  a  man  of  force  '  or  '  power.' 
Thus  the  expression  means  '  a  strong  bold  man  '  (Judges  xi.  1,  cf. 
vi.  12).  'a  wealthy  man'  (2  Kings  xv.  20),  or  'a  clever,  shrewd 
man'  (1  Kings  xi.  28).  Either  the  second  or  third  meaning  would 
be  suitable  here. 


1 86  RUTH  2.  3-9 

Let  me  now  go  to  the  field,  and  glean  among  the  ears  of 
corn  after  him  in  whose  sight  I  shall  find  grace.     And 

3  she  said  unto  her,  Go,  my  daughter.  And  she  went,  and 
came  and  gleaned  in  the  field  after  the  reapers  :  and  her 
hap  was  to  light  on  the  portion  of  the  field  belonging  unto 

4  Boaz,  who  was  of  the  family  of  Elimelech.  And,  behold, 
Boaz  came  from  Beth-lehem,  and  said  unto  the  reapers, 
The  Lord  be  with  you.     And  they  answered  him,  The 

5  Lord  bless  thee.     Then  said  Boaz  unto  his  servant  that 

6  was  set  over  the  reapers,  Whose  damsel  is  this  ?  And  the 
servant  that  was  set  over  the  reapers  answered  and  said, 
It  is  the  Moabitish  damsel  that  came  back  with  Naomi 

7  out  of  the  country  of  Moab  :  and  she  said,  Let  me  glean, 
I  pray  you,  and  gather  after  the  reapers  among  the 
sheaves :  so  she  came,  and  hath  continued  even  from 
the  morning  until  now,  save  that  she  tarried  a  little  in 

8  the  house.  Then  said  Boaz  unto  Ruth,  Hearest  thou 
not,  my  daughter?  Go  not  to  glean  in  another  field, 
neither  pass  from  hence,   but  abide   here  fast   by  my 

9  maidens.  Let  thine  eyes  be  on  the  field  that  they  do 
reap,  and  go  thou  after  them  :  have  I  not  charged  the 
young  men  that  they  shall  not  touch  thee?  and  when 


2.  Permission  to  glean  in  harvesting  was  granted  by  custom  in 
early  times,  and  is  enjoined  in  the  Deuteronomic  (Deut.  xxiv.  19  ff.) 
and  the  Priestly  Laws  (Lev.  xix.  gf.,  xxiii.  22). 

4.  For  other  forms  of  greeting  see  Judges  vi.  12,  xviii.  15. 

T.  save  that  she  tarried  a  little  in  the  house.  This  is  an 
attempt  to  translate  what  in  Hebrew  is  unintelligible.  The 
English  version  does  not  commend  itself,  for  there  was  no  'house' 
out  in  the  open  fields  where  the  reaping  was  going  on.  The 
Greek  version  suggests  'She  has  not  rested  (even)  a  little,' and  the 
Latin  has  l  She  has  not  returned  home  (even)  for  a  short  time.' 

8,  9.  Men  do  the  reaping,  '  maidens  '  follow  them  and  bind  the 
sheaves.  The  protection  of  Boaz  meant  much  to  Ruth,  for  evidently 
gleaners  might  be  driven  off  by  the  workers,  or  exposed  to  rude- 
ness. 


RUTH  2.  10-15  187 

thou  art  athirst,  go  unto  the  vessels,  and  drink  of  that 
which  the  young  men  have  drawn.     Then  she  fell  on  10 
her  face,  and  bowed  herself  to  the  ground,  and  said  unto 
him,  Why  have  I  found  grace  in  thy  sight,  that  thou 
shouldest  take  knowledge  of  me,  seeing  I  am  a  stranger  ? 
And  Boaz  answered  and  said  unto  her,  It  hath  fully  been  n 
shewed  me,  all  that  thou  hast  done  unto  thy  mother  in 
law  since  the  death  of  thine  husband :    and  how  thou 
hast  left  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  and  the  land  of  thy 
nativity,  and  art  come  unto  a  people  which  thou  knewest 
not  heretofore.     The  Lord  recompense  thy  work,  and  a  12 
full  reward  be  given  thee  of  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
under  whose  wings  thou  art  come  to  take  refuge.     Then  13 
she  said,  Let  me  find  grace  in  thy  sight,  my  lord;  for 
that  thou  hast  comforted   me,  and  for  that  thou  hast 
spoken  kindly  unto  thine  handmaid,  though  I  be  not  as 
one  of  thine  handmaidens.     And  at  meal-time  Boaz  said  14 
unto  her,  Come  hither,  and  eat  of  the  bread,  and  dip  thy 
morsel  in  the  vinegar.     And  she  sat  beside  the  reapers : 
and  they  reached  her  parched  corn,  and  she  did  eat,  and 
was  sufficed,  and  left  thereof.     And  when  she  was  risen  15 
up  to  glean,  Boaz  commanded  his  young  men,  saying, 


12.  under  whose  wing's  thou  art  come  to  take  refuge.     Cf. 

Deut.  xxxii.  n  ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  7,  lvii.  1,  xci.  4. 

13.  though  I  he  (or  i  am  ')  not  as  one  of  thine  handmaidens, 

but  a  Moabitess  and  so  a  '  stranger  '  or  '  foreigner'  (verse  10). 

14.  vinegar  :  a  sour  liquid  produced  by  fermenting  wine  or 
certain  juices  of  plants  and  used  with  food  as  a  relish. 

parched  corn  :    ears  of  corn  roasted  on  a  hot  plate.     1  Sam. 
xxv.  18,  2  Sam.  xvii.  28. 

15.  16.  Boaz  gives  orders  that  not  only  is  Ruth  to  be  allowed 
to  glean  as  before  where  the  sheaves  have  been  taken  up,  but  she 
is  to  be  permitted  to  gather  among  the  standing  sheaves.  More- 
over, as  the  cut  corn  is  taken  up  by  the  gatherers  to  be  tied  into 
sheaves,  some  of  it  is  to  be  carelessly  dropped,  so  that  she  may 
have  more. 


188  RUTH  2.  16-20 

Let  her  glean  even  among  the  sheaves,  and  reproach  her 

16  not.     And  also  pull  out  some  for  her  from  the  bundles, 

17  and  leave  it,  and  let  her  glean,  and  rebuke  her  not.  So 
she  gleaned  in  the  field  until  even ;  and  she  beat  out 
that  she  had  gleaned,   and  it  was  about  an  ephah  of 

18  barley.  And  she  took  it  up,  and  went  into  the  city : 
and  her  mother  in  law  saw  what  she  had  gleaned :  and 
she  brought  forth  and  gave  to  her  that  she  had  left  after 

19  she  was  sufficed.  And  her  mother  in  law  said  unto  her, 
Where  hast  thou  gleaned  to-day  ?  and  where  wroughtest 
thou  ?  blessed  be  he  that  did  take  knowledge  of  thee. 
And  she  shewed  her  mother  in  law  with  whom  she  had 
wrought,  and  said,  The  man's  name  with  whom  I  wrought 

20  to-day  is  Boaz.  And  Naomi  said  unto  her  daughter  in 
law,  Blessed  be  he  of  the  Lord,  who  hath  not  left  off  his 
kindness  to  the  living  and  to  the  dead.  And  Naomi 
said  unto  her,  The  man  is  nigh  of  kin  unto  us,  one  of 

17.  an  ephah  of  barley  :  that  is,  about  a  bushel. 

18.  and   her  mother  in  law   saw  what   she  had  gleaned. 

More  probably,  as  in  some  Hebrew  MSS.  and  the  Latin  and  Syriac 
versions,  '  She  (Ruth)  showed  her  mother-in-law,'  &c. 

and  gave  to  her  that  she  had  left  after  she  was  sufficed : 
i.  e.  of  the  parched  corn  given  her  at  the  meal,  some  of  which  she 
had  left.     (See  last  clause  of  verse  14.) 

20.  one  of  our  near  kinsmen :  one  of  our  '  goels.'  The 
Hebrew  word  'god1  denotes  one  who  redeems  or  resumes  a  claim. 
In  the  Hebrew  family  life  the  one  whose  duty  it  was  to  redeem 
the  property,  and  take  up  the  rights  or  duties  of  a  man  who  had 
died,  was  his  nearest  male  relative,  hence  the  English  translation. 
These  rights  and  duties  were  various.  If  a  man  had  died  leaving 
property,  the  goel  had  the  right  to  buy  it  before  it  was  offered 
for  sale  publicly,  and  so  keep  it  in  the  family  (Jer.  xxxii.  8-i2\ 
If  a  man  had  been  killed  the  goel  became  the  avenger  of  his  blood. 
If  during  a  man's  lifetime  he  had  been  compelled  to  sell  himself  or 
his  property  to  a  stranger,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  goel  to  redeem 
the  one  or  the  other  (Lev.  xxv.  47-49,  25).  In  this  book  the  right 
of  the  goel  to  purchase  Elimelech  s  land  is  associated  with  the  duty 
of  marrying  Ruth  '  to  raise  up  the  name  of  the  dead  upon  his 
inheritance '  (see  iv.  5). 


RUTH  2.  2i—3.  3  189 

our  near  kinsmen.     And  Ruth  the  Moabitess  said,  Yea,  21 
he  said  unto  me,  Thou  shalt  keep  fast  by  my  young  men, 
until  they  have  ended  all  my  harvest.     And  Naomi  said  22 
unto  Ruth  her  daughter  in  law,  It  is  good,  my  daughter, 
that  thou  go  out  with  his  maidens,  and  that  they  meet 
thee  not  in  any  other  field.     So  she  kept  fast  by  the  23 
maidens  of  Boaz  to  glean  unto  the  end  of  barley  harvest 
and  of  wheat  harvest ;  and  she  dwelt  with  her  mother  in 
law. 

And   Naomi  her  mother  in   law   said  unto  her,  My   3 
daughter,  shall  I  not  seek  rest  for  thee,  that  it  may  be 
well  with  thee  ?  And  now  is  there  not  Boaz  our  kinsman,    2 
with  whose  maidens  thou  wast?  Behold,  he  winnoweth 
barley   to-night    in    the    threshing-floor.     Wash    thyself  3 
therefore,   and  anoint  thee,  and  put  thy  raiment  upon 
thee,  and  get   thee   down    to  the  threshing-floor :    but 
make  not  thyself  known   unto  the  man,  until  he  shall 

22.  that  they  meet  thee  not:  with  intent  to  do  injury  or  insult 
(as  in  Judges  viii.  21,  xv.  12,  xviii.  25,  in  all  of  which  the  verb  is 
translated  '  fall  upon ').     Cf.  verse  9. 

23.  wheat  harvest  followed  that  of  the  barley  two  or  three 
weeks  later. 

iii.  1- 18.  Ruth  and  Boaz.  Naomi,  anxious  to  provide  a  home 
for  Ruth,  suggests  a  plan  for  calling  the  attention  of  Boaz  to  his 
rights  as  a  'goel.'  After  a  day's  work  at  winnowing  barley,  and 
after  he  has  refreshed  himself,  Boaz  lies  down  to  sleep  among  the 
corn.  At  midnight  he  discovers  Ruth  lying  at  his  feet.  She 
claims  his  protection.  This  he  gratefully  promises,  unless  a  nearer 
kinsman  claims  the  right.  In  the  morning  he  sends  her  home  with 
six  measures  of  barley.  Naomi,  knowing  the  energetic  character 
of  Boaz,  bids  Ruth  now  await  quietly  the  course  of  events. 

2.  is  there  not  Boaz  our  kinsman,  &c.  :  rather  'is  not  Boaz  our 
kinsman  ? ' 

to-night.  After  four  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  through  the 
night  a  cool  breeze  sets  in  from  the  sea.  This  wind  carries  away 
the  chaff  in  winnowing,  and  the  coolness  makes  work  pleasant. 

the  threshing-floor.  See  on  Judges  vi.  1  r.  Here  in  Beth-lehem 
it  is  apparently  lower  than  the  city  ('get  thee  down '  in  verse  3). 


i9o  RUTH  3.  4-12 

4  have  done  eating  and  drinking.  And  it  shall  be,  when 
he  lieth  down,  that  thou  shalt  mark  the  place  where  he 
shall  lie,  and  thou  shalt  go  in,  and  uncover  his  feet,  and 
lay  thee  down ;  and  he  will  tell  thee  what  thou  shalt  do. 

5  And  she  said  unto  her,  All  that  thou  sayest  I  will  do. 

6  And  she  went  down  unto  the  threshing-floor,  and  did 

7  according  to  all  that  her  mother  in  law  bade  her.  And 
when  Boaz  had  eaten  and  drunk,  and  his  heart  was 
merry,  he  went  to  lie  down  at  the  end  of  the  heap  of 
corn :   and  she  came  softly,  and  uncovered  his  feet,  and 

8  laid  her  down.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  midnight,  that 
the  man  was  afraid,  and  turned  himself :    and,  behold,  a 

9  woman  lay  at  his  feet.  And  he  said,  Who  art  thou  ? 
And  she  answered,  I  am  Ruth  thine  handmaid :  spread 
therefore  thy  skirt  over  thine  handmaid ;  for  thou  art  a 

io  near  kinsman.  And  he  said,  Blessed  be  thou  of  the 
Lord,  my  daughter :  thou  hast  shewed  more  kindness  in 
the  latter  end  than  at  the  beginning,  inasmuch  as  thou 

ii  followedst  not  young  men,  whether  poor  or  rich.  And 
now,  my  daughter,  fear  not;  I  will  do  to  thee  all  that 
thou  sayest :   for  all  the  city  of  my  people  doth  know 

12  that  thou  art  a  virtuous  woman.  And  now  it  is  true  that 
I  am  a  near  kinsman :  howbeit  there  is  a  kinsman  nearer 

4.  Ruth  is  to  put  herself  entirely  in  the  power  of  Boaz,  in  the 
belief  that  he  will  act  honourably  and  vigorously  (cf.  verse  18). 

7.  his  heart  was  merry:  cf.  Judges  xvi.  25,  xix.  6,  9,  22. 
he  went  to  lie  down  at  the  end  of  the  heap  of  corn,  just  as 
the   peasants   sleep    on   the    threshing-floor   during  the  time  of 
threshing  at  the  present  day  in  Palestine. 

9.  a  near  kinsman  :  '  a  goel '  (see  ii.  20). 

11.  all  the  city  of  my  people,  lit.  ( all  the  gate  of  my  people '  : 
because  the  gate  of  the  city  was  the  place  where  the  people  met 
for  social,  political,  and  legal  discussions.     (See  iv.  1  ff.) 

a  virtuous  woman,  lit.   'a  woman  of  force'  or  '  strength.' 
(See  the  second  note  to  ii.  1.) 

12.  a  kinsman:  a  !  goel'  as  above.  The  rights  and  duties  of 
goel  fell  first  upon  the  nearest  of  kin. 


RUTH  3.  13—4.  1  191 

than  I.     Tarry  this  night,  and  it  shall  be  in  the  morning,  13 
that  if  he  will  perform  unto  thee  the  part  of  a  kinsman, 
well ;  let  him  do  the  kinsman's  part :  but  if  he  will  not 
do  the  part  of  a  kinsman  to  thee,  then  will  I  do  the  part 
of  a  kinsman  to  thee,  as  the  Lord  liveth  :  lie  down  until 
the  morning.     And  she  lay  at  his  feet  until  the  morning :  14 
and  she  rose  up  before  one  could  discern  another.     For 
he  said,  Let  it  not  be  known  that  the  woman  came  to 
the  threshing-floor.     And  he  said,  Bring  the  mantle  that  15 
is  upon  thee,   and  hold  it ;   and   she  held  it :   and  he 
measured  six  measures  of  barley,  and  laid  it  on  her  :  and 
he  went   into  the  city.     And  when    she  came   to  her  16 
mother  in  law,  she  said,  Who  art  thou,  my  daughter? 
And  she  told  her  all  that  the  man  had  done  to  her. 
And  she  said,  These  six  measures  of  barley  gave  he  me;  17 
for  he  said,   Go  not  empty  unto  thy  mother   in   law. 
Then  said  she,  Sit  still,  my  daughter,  until  thou  know  18 
how  the  matter  will  fall :  for  the  man  will  not  rest,  until 
he  have  finished  the  thing  this  day. 

Now  Boaz  went  up  to  the  gate,  and  sat  him  down  4 

13.  Tarry  this  night :  for  it  would  be  dangerous  for  her  to  go 
home  then  with  rough  men  about.     (Cf.  Song  of  Songs  v.  7.) 

14.  "before  one  could  discern  another,  lit.  *  before  a  man 
could  distinguish  his  neighbour.1 

15.  the  mantle :  the  wrapper  worn  over  the  other  clothes. 
he  went.     The  marginal  reading  is  better,  '  she  went.' 

16.  Who  art  thou?  One  dishonoured  or  one  protected  and 
honoured  ? 

iv.  1-17.  Boaz  purchases  Elimelech1  s  property  and marries  Ruth. 
A  child  is  born  from  whom  David  descended.  Boaz  went  up  to  the 
city  gate  and  sat  there  among  the  people  until  he  saw  the  '  nearer 
kinsman'  of  Elimelech  approaching.  Then  he  called  him  and 
reminded  him  that  he  had  the  right  to  buy  back  the  land  of 
Elimelech,  which  Naomi  had  sold.  At  first  inclined  to  do  so,  he 
is  repelled  when  he  is  told  that  he  must  with  the  land  take  Ruth 
as  wife,  and  count  the  first  child  to  Mahlon  and  not  to  himself. 
He  therefore  solemnly  renounces  his  right  in   the  presence  of 


192  RUTH  4.   2-5 

there  :  and,  behold,  the  near  kinsman  of  whom  Boaz 
spake  came  by ;  unto  whom  he  said,  Ho,  such  a  one ! 
turn  aside,  sit  down  here.     And  he  turned  aside,  and  sat 

2  down.     And  he  took  ten  men  of  the  elders  of  the  city, 

3  and  said,  Sit  ye  down  here.  And  they  sat  down.  And 
he  said  unto  the  near  kinsman,  Naomi,  that  is  come 
again  out  of  the  country  of  Moab,  selleth  the  parcel  of 

4  land,  which  was  our  brother  Elimelech's :  and  I  thought 
to  disclose  it  unto  thee,  saying,  Buy  it  before  them  that 
sit  here,  and  before  the  elders  of  my  people.  If  thou 
wilt  redeem  it,  redeem  it :  but  if  thou  wilt  not  redeem  it, 
then  tell  me,  that  I  may  know  :  for  there  is  none  to 
redeem  it  beside  thee;   and  I  am  after  thee.     And  he 

5  said,  I  will  redeem  it.  Then  said  Boaz,  What  day  thou 
buyest  the  field  of  the  hand  of  Naomi,  thou  must  buy  it 
also  of  Ruth  the  Moabitess,   the  wife  of  the  dead,   to 

witnesses  by  drawing  off  his  shoe.  Boaz  now  claims  the  right  for 
himself,  acquires  all  that  belonged  to  Elimelech  and  his  heirs,  and 
marries  Ruth.  The  first  child  of  this  marriage  is  named  Obed. 
He  was  the  grandfather  of  David. 

1.  went  up  from  the  threshing-floor  (cf.  iii.  2). 

the  gate  of  an  Eastern  city  is  often  a  fairly  large  building,  in 
the  shade  of  which  men  may  sit  comfortably  in  the  heat  of  the  day. 
Near  it  is  almost  always  a  broad  open  space,  where  a  market  is  held 
and  the  people  meet  for  the  interchange  of  news  and  settlement  of 
disputes,  claims,  &c.  (See  Gen.  xix.  1,  xxiii.  10,  xxxiv.  20  ;  1  Sam. 
iv.  13,  marg.,  &c.) 

2.  the  elders  of  the  city  (cf.  Judges  viii.  14)  at  this  time 
would  be  the  heads  of  leading  families  in  the  city. 

3.  4.  selleth.  The  Hebrew  means  '  has  sold.'  Naomi  had 
now  been  back  in  Beth-lehem  for  some  weeks,  and  apparently  had 
sold  the  land.  Custom,  afterwards  embodied  in  law  (Lev.  xxv. 
25),  provided  that  in  such  cases  the  land  could  be  restored  to  the 
family  if  a  kinsman  ('  goel ')  claimed  his  right  to  buy  it  back.  That 
right  belonged  in  the  first  place  to  the  nearest  of  kin.  If  he 
declined  to  exercise  it,  then  the  next  to  him  in  kinship  might 
do  so. 

if  thou  wilt  not  redeem  it  must  be  correct  in  spite  of  the 
Hebrew  text.     (See  margin.) 

5.  thou  must  huy  it  also  of  Ruth.    The  text  is  faulty  here,  for 


RUTH  4.  6-1 1  193 

raise  up  the  name  of  the  dead  upon  his  inheritance. 
And  the  near  kinsman  said,  I  cannot  redeem  it  for  my-    6 
self,  lest   I  mar  mine  own   inheritance :   take  thou   my 
right  of  redemption  on  thee ;   for   I   cannot  redeem  it. 
Now  this  was  the  custom  in  former  time  in  Israel  con-    7 
cerning  redeeming  and  concerning  exchanging,   for  to 
confirm  all  things ;  a  man  drew  off  his  shoe,  and  gave  it 
to  his  neighbour:  and  this  was  the  manner  of  attestation 
in  Israel.     So  the  near  kinsman  said  unto  Boaz,  Buy  it    s 
for  thyself.     And  he  drew  off  his  shoe.     And  Boaz  said    9 
unto  the  elders,  and  unto  all  the  people,  Ye  are  witnesses 
this  day,  that  I  have  bought  all  that  was  Elimelech's,  and 
all   that  was  Chilion's  and  Mahlon's,   of  the   hand  of 
Naomi.     Moreover   Ruth    the   Moabitess,    the   wife   of  ro 
Mahlon,  have  I  purchased  to  be  my  wife,  to  raise  up  the 
name  of  the  dead  upon  his  inheritance,  that  the  name  ol 
the  dead  be  not  cut  off  from  among  his  brethren,  and 
from  the  gate  of  his  place :   ye  are  witnesses  this  day. 
And  all  the  people  that  were  in  the  gate,  and  the  elders,  11 
said,  We  are  witnesses.     The  Lord  make  the  woman 

Naomi,  not  Ruth,  sold  the  land.  We  should  read  '  thou  must  alsc 
buy  Ruth,'  exactly  as  in  verse  10.  The  law  of  the  Levirate 
marriage  (see  i.  n-13)  only  required  that  the  brother  of  the  dead 
.should  marry  the  widow  if  she  had  no  son  to  inherit.  Here  the 
duty  is  laid  on  the  next-of-kin,  if  he  claim  his  right  to  buy  the 
property,  which  would  naturally  fall  to  the  son  of  the  widow. 
Although  the  l  goel '  is  required  in  this  verse  '  to  raise  up  the  name 
of  the  dead  upon  his  inheritance '  (cf.  verse  6),  Ruth's  son  is 
ascribed  not  to  Mahlon  but  to  Boaz  in  the  genealogy  of  verses 
18-22. 

7.  An  explanation  of  the  act  recorded  in  verse  8.  The  drawing 
off  of  the  shoe  to  indicate  the  giving  up  of  one's  rights  occurs  again 
in  Deut.  xxv.  9.  It  is  possible  that  in  Psalm  lx.  9,  we  have  the 
inverse  process  of  taking  possession  of,  or  claiming,  by  throwing 
the  shoe  on  something. 

For  the  relation  of  this  verse  to  the  date  of  the  book,  see  Intro-     _ 
duction. 

8.  The  Greek  version  adds  at  the  end  'and gave  (it)  to  him.' 


194  RUTH  4.  13-17 

that  is  come  into  thine  house  like  Rachel  and  like  Leah, 
which  two  did  build  the  house  of  Israel :  and  do  thou 
worthily  in  Ephrathah,  and  be  famous  in  Beth-lehem  : 

12  and  let  thy  house  be  like  the  house  of  Perez,  whom 
Tamar  bare  unto  Judah,  of  the  seed  which  the  Lord 

13  shall  give  thee  of  this  young  woman.  So  Boaz  took 
Ruth,  and  she  became  his  wife;  and  he  went  in  unto 
her,  and  the  Lord  gave  her  conception,  and  she  bare  a 

14  son.  And  the  women  said  unto  Naomi,  Blessed  be  the 
Lord,  which  hath  not  left  thee  this  day  without  a  near 

15  kinsman,  and  let  his  name  be  famous  in  Israel.  And  he 
shall  be  unto  thee  a  restorer  of  life,  and  a  nourisher  of 
thine  old  age :  for  thy  daughter  in  law,  which  loveth 
thee,  which  is  better  to  thee  than  seven  sons,  hath  borne 

16  him.     And   Naomi  took  the  child,   and  laid   it  in   her 

17  bosom,  and  became  nurse  unto  it.  And  the  women  her 
neighbours  gave  it  a  name,  saying,  There  is  a  son  born 
to  Naomi ;  and  they  called  his  name  Obed :  he  is  the 
father  of  Jesse,  the  father  of  David. 


11.  do  thou  worthily:  lit.  'make  power,'  the  noun  being 
the  same  as  that  which  occurs  in  the  expression  noted  in  ii.  1, 
iii.  11. 

Ephrathah.     See  i.  2. 

12.  See  Gen.  xxxviii.  According  to  verse  18  Boaz  himself 
belonged  to  the  descendants  of  Perez. 

14.  Now  that  a  son  is  born  to  Ruth  he  is  considered  by  the 
women  as  the  'goel'  who  takes  up  all  the  rights  and  duties  of 
Naomi's  son  Mahlon. 

15.  is  better  to  thes  than  seven  sons.  Seven  is  a  round 
number;  one  could  paraphrase  'than  any  number  of  sons.'  This 
is  because  through  Ruth  s  action  in  coming  to  Beth-lehem  with 
her,  and  then  in  marrying  Boaz  and  bearing  a  son,  she  has  made 
Naomi  the  ancestress  of  a  family  in  Israel. 

17.  the  women  her  neighbours  gave  it  a  name.     Cf.  Luke 

i-  59- 

Obed :  i.e.'  one  serving,'  as  in  the  name  Obadiah.  i.  e.  a  servant 
of  Yahweh. 


RUTH  4.  18-22  195 

Now  these  are  the  generations  of  Perez:   Perez  begat  18,19 
Hezron ;    and    Hezron   begat    Ram,    and    Ram    begat 
Amminadab ;    and   Amminadab    begat    Nahshon,    and  20 
Nahshon  begat  Salmon ;  and  Salmon  begat   Boaz,  and  2 1 
Boaz  begat  Obed ;   and  Obed  begat  Jesse,   and  Jesse  22 
begat  David. 

13-22.  Genealogy  of  David  showing  his  descent  through  Boaz 
(cf.  the  genealogies  in  Matt,  i  and  Luke  iii).  An  addition  at 
a  later  time  to  the  story  of  Ruth  (see  Introduction). 

18.  These  are  the  generations  of:  the  usual  formula  in  the 
priestly  writings  of  the  Pentateuch  (cf.  Gen.  ii.  4,  vi.  9,  x.  1, 
xi.  10,  27,  &c). 

19.  Perez.  See  Gen.  xxxviii.  29,  xlvi.  12,  in  both  passages 
a  son  of  Judah. 

Hezron:  in  Gen.  xlvi.  12;  Num.  xxvi.  si;  1  Chron.  ii.  5 
a  son  of  Perez  ;  but  in  1  Chron.  iv.  1  with  Perez  a  son  of  Judah. 

Ram  :  in  Matt.  i.  3  and  Luke  iii.  33  (marg.)  called  Aram,  as  in 
the  Greek  version  here,  and  in  1  Chron.  ii.  9  f.  In  1  Chron.  ii.  25 
he  is  the  grandson  of  Hezron. 

Amminadab.  See  Ex.  vi.  23 ;  Num.  i.  7,  ii.  3  ;  1  Chron. 
ii.  10. 

20.  Nahshon.     See  Num.  i,  7,  ii.  3,  x.  14. 
Salmon  or  Salmah.     1  Chron.  ii.  11  (cf  verse  54). 


O   2 


INDEX 


{The  Numerals  refer  to  the  Pages.1, 


Abbreviations,  25. 

Abdon,  117  f. 

Abel-cheramim,  113. 

Abel-meholah,  86. 

Abimelech,  11  f.,  14,  93  ft. 

Achsah,  34. 

Adoni-bezek,  31. 

Aijalon,  39. 

Akrabbim,  39. 

Amalek,  50  f. 

Ammonites,  105,  106,  109. 

Amorites,  31,  39. 

Anak,  Sons  of,  33. 

Angel  (of  Yahweh),  40,  119. 

Arad,  35. 

Ark,  164. 

Armour-bearer,  102. 

Arnon,  109  f. 

Aroer,  112,  113. 

Arumah,  99,  100. 

Asherah,  79. 

Asheroth,  49. 

Ashtaroth,  44. 

Baalim,  43  f,,  79,  93;  101, 
Barak,  10  f.,  55  ff. 
Beer,  97. 
Beer-sheba,  160. 
Belial,  Sons  of,  157  f. 
Beth-anath,  38. 
Beth-el,  36,  40. 
Beth-lehem,  145,  153. 
Beth-rehob,  152. 
Beth-shean,  37. 
Beth-shemesh,  38. 
Beth-shittah,  86. 
Bezek,  31. 
Blood-revenge,  90. 
Bochim,  40,  41. 
Burial,  184. 
Butter,  72. 


I    Caleb,  33  f. 

I    Canaan  (^Land  and  People),  30. 
38,  47^  55,  7o. 

Canon,  The  Hebrew,  3. 

Chariots,  56. 

Chronology,  14  f. 

City  government,  89,  192. 

Congregation,  The,  160,  170. 

Crescents,  91,  92. 

Cubit,  51. 

Curse,  143. 

Cushan-rishathaim.  49. 

Dagon,  139,  140. 

Dan,  39,  69. 

Dancing,  115,  171. 

David,  Genealogy  of,  177,  195. 

Debir,  33. 

Deborah,  55  ff. 

—  Song  of,  60  ff. 
Delilah,  136  ff. 
Deuteronomist,  5-8,  18  f. 
Dialects,  Hebrew,  116. 
Dodo,  103. 

Dor,  37. 

Ebed,  98  ;  cf.  194. 

Edom,  39,  63. 

Eglon,  50. 

Ehud,  10,  50  ff. 

Elon,  117. 

En-hakkore,  134. 

Ephod,  92,  144. 

Ephraim,  Tribe  of,  87  f.,  43. 

—  Hill-country  of,  42. 
Ephrathite,  181. 
Eshtaol,  124. 

Etam,  131. 

Fable,  95  f. 
Family,  77. 


198 


JUDGES    AND    RUTH 


Famine,  181. 
Festival,  98. 

Gate  of  City,  192. 

Gaza,  75,  134. 

Gera,  51. 

Gezer,  38. 

Gibeah,  156,  165. 

Gideon,  11  f.,  77  ff. 

Gilboa,  83. 

Gilead,  68,  69,  82  f.,  117,  160. 

Gilgal,  51  f- 

Gleaning,  186. 

Goad  for  oxen,  54. 

Hair,  61,  137,  138. 

Hamath,  47. 

Harod,  82. 

Harosheth,  55. 

Harvest,  130,  185,  189. 

Havvoth-jair,  103. 

Hazor,  55. 

Hebron,  33,  135. 

Heres,  89. 

Heshbon,  111,  112. 

Hill-country,  32.  (See also  "Eph- 

raim.'j 
Hittites,  37,  47,  48. 
Hivites,  47,  48. 
Hobab,  58. 
Hormah,  35. 

Hospitality,  78,  122,  155.  156. 
House  of  gods,  144. 

Ibleam,  37. 
Ibzan,  117. 
Images,  143. 
Ishmaelites,  91. 
Issachar,  29,  57.  103. 

Jabbok,  no. 
Jabesh-gilead,  169. 
Jabin,  55. 
Jael,  64,  71. 
Jair,  103. 
Jawbone,  132  f. 
Jebus,  155. 


Jcbusites,  31,  36. 
Jephthah,  12,  104  ff. 
Jericho,  35,  51. 
Jerubbaal,  80  f. 
Jerusalem,  32,  36. 
Jezreel,  81. 
Joash,  77. 
Jogbehah,  89. 
Joseph,  House  of,  36. 
Jotham,  95. 
Judah,  30. 

—  Wilderness  of,  35. 

Kadesh,  no  f. 
Kedesh-naphtali,  57. 
Kenites,  34,  57. 
Kings  in  Palestine,  32.  70. 
Kinsman,  185,  188. 
Kiriath-jearim,  149. 
Kiriath-sepher,  33. 
Kishon,  70. 

Laish,  148. 

Lebonah,  171. 

Lehi,  131  f. 

Levi,  29. 

Levirate  marriage,  183. 

Levite,  145. 

Machir,  68. 

Mahaneh-dan,  150. 

Man  of  God,  121. 

Manoah,  119. 

Maonites,  106. 

Marriage,  124  f.,  127.    (See  also 

'  Levirate.') 
Meal-offering,  123. 
Megiddo,  37. 

—  Battle  of,  58. 
Mcroz,  71. 
Mesopotamia,  49. 
Micah,  142. 
Midian,  74  f. 
Millo,  95. 
Millstone.  102. 
Minnith,  113. 
Mizpah,  160  f. 


INDEX 


199 


Moab,  50,  104,  no,  181,  182. 
Moreh,  82. 
Moses,  152. 
Mutilation  in  war,  32. 

Naphtali,  57. 
Nazirite,  120,  138. 
Negeb,  32  f.,  34,  35. 

Oath,  168. 
Oracle,  30. 
Othniel,  34,  48  ft: 

Palm-tree  of  Deborah,  56. 

Palm-trees,  City  of,  35. 

Penuel,  89. 

Perizzite,  31. 

Philistia,  35. 

Philistines,  47,  105,  106,  u8f., 

120  f.,  126,  135. 
Phinehas,  164. 
Pirathon,  118. 
Preface  to  Judges,  15  f. 
Prophet,    76.     (Cf.     'Man     of 

God.') 
Puah,  103. 

Quarries,  51. 

Raiment,  128. 
Ramah,  56,  156. 
Ramoth-lehi,  133. 
Riddles,  127  f. 
Rimmon,  167. 
Ruth,  181  ff. 

Sacrifice,  164. 
Salt,  Sowing  with,  ior. 
Salutation,  77,  150 
Samson,  12  f.,  119ft".  124. 
Seir,  63. 
Shaalbim,  39. 
Shaddai,  185. 
Shamgar,  14,  54,  64. 
Shechem,  94,  101. 


Shefelah,  33. 

Shiloh,  153,  170. 

Shoe,  in  contracts.  176,  193. 

Simeon,  30  f. 

Sojourning,  145. 

Sorek,  Valley  of,  135. 

Spirit  of  Yahweh,  49,  Si,  124. 

(Evil),  97. 

Supplement  to  Judges,  16  f, 
Syria,  104. 

Taanach,  37. 
Tabor,  Mt.,  57. 
Teraphim,  144,  150. 
Text  of  Judges,  20  f. 
Thebez,  102. 
Threshing-floor,  77,  189. 
Timnah,  125. 
Timnath-heres,  42. 
Tob,  107. 
Tola,  103. 
Trees,  Sacred,  56,  58,  100, 

Unclean,  ii9f. 

Vows,  113. 

Wine-press,  77. 

Yahweh,  Abode  of,  62  f, 

—  God  of  Israel,  62. 

—  House  of,  152,  157. 

—  how  consulted,  30,  81,  84, 

147. 
shalom,  79. 

—  (See     also     'Angel'     and 

'  Spirit.') 

Zaanannim,  58. 
Zalmunna,  88. 
Zaphon,  115. 
Zeba,  88. 
Zebulun,  57. 
Zererah,  86. 
Zidon,  47,  104,  148. 
Zorah.  119. 


OXFORD:    HORACE   HART 
PRINTER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


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